l^1      ,., 

- 


OF  CALIF.  LI&RARY.  LOS  ANGELES 


THRICE   ARMED 


BY 
HAROLD   BINDLOSS 

Author  of  "  Winston  of  the  Prairie,"  "Delilah  of  the 

Snows,"  "By  Right  of  Purchase,"  "Lorimer 

of  the  Northwest,"  etc. 


NEW   YORK 

FREDERICK   A.   STOKES   COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  T 


Copyright,  1908,  by 
FREDERICK   A.  STOKES   COMPANY 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.     JIMMY  RENOUNCES  His  CAREEH. 1 

II.     To  WINDWARD 12 

III.  JIMMY  MAKES  FRIENDS 24 

IV.  IN  THE  Tons 35 

V.     VALENTINE'S  PAID  HAND 46 

VI.     A  VISION  OF  THE  SEA 60 

VII.     BLOWN  OFF 73 

VIII.     JIMMY  TAKES  COMMAND 84 

IX.     MERRIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW 97 

X.     ELEANOR  WHEELOCK 108 

XI.     AT  AUCTION 120 

XII.     THE  "SHASTA"  SHIPPING  COMPANY 184 

XIII.  THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA 145 

XIV.  IN  DISTRESS 159 

XV.     ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS 172 

XVI.     UNDER  RESTRAINT 184 

XVII.     THE  RANCHER'S  ANSWER 196 

XVIII.     ELEANOR  SPEAKS  HER  MIND 209 

XIX.     WOOD  PULP 220 

XX.     ANTHEA  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY 233 

XXI.     JIMMY  GROWS  RESTLESS 244 

XXII.    ASHORE 254 


2126059 


vi  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIII.  AKTHEA  GROWS  ANXIOUS 265 

XXIV.  JORDAN  KEEPS  His  PROMISE 276 

XXV.     AN  UNDERSTANDING 285 

XXVI.     ELEANOR  HOLDS  THE  CLUE 296 

XXVII.     JORDAN'S  SCHEME 306 

XXVIII.     DISABLED  ENGINES 317 

XXIX.     UNDER  COMPULSION 329 

XXX.     AN  EYE  FOR  AN  EYE 344 

XXXI.     MERRIL  CAPITULATES 354 

XXXII.  ELEANOR,  RELENTS  . .                                                      .364 


Thrice  Armed 


CHAPTER  I 

JIMMY    RENOUNCES    HIS    CAREER 

IT  was  with  somewhat  mixed  feelings,  and  a  curious 
little  smile  in  his  eyes,  that  Jim  Wheelock  stood 
with  a  brown  hand  on  the  Tyee's  wheel  as  the 
deep-loaded  schooner  slid  out  through  Vancouver  Nar- 
rows before  a  fresh  easterly  breeze.  Dim  heights  of 
snow  rose  faintly  white  against  the  creeping  dusk 
above  her  starboard  hand,  and  the  busy  British  Colum- 
bian city,  girt  with  mazy  wires  and  towering  telegraph 
poles,  was  fading  slowly  amidst  the  great  black  pines 
astern.  An  aromatic  smell  of  burning  followed  the 
schooner,  and  from  the  levels  at  the  head  of  the  Inlet 
a  long  gray  smear  blew  out  across  the  water.  A  fire 
which  had,  as  not  infrequently  happens,  passed  the 
bounds  of  somebody's  clearing  was  eating  its  way  into 
that  part  of  the  great  coniferous  forest  that  rolls 
north  from  Oregon  to  Alaska  along  the  wet  seaboard 
of  the  Pacific  Slope. 

The  schooner  was  making  her  six  knots,  with  main- 
boom  well  out  on  her  quarter  and  broad  wisps  of  froth 
washing  off  beneath  her  bows,  slanted  until  her  leeward 

1 


2  THRICE    ARMED 

scuppers  were  close  above  the  sliding  foam.  Wheelock 
stood  right  aft,  with  his  shoulders  just  above  the  roof 
of  the  little  deckhouse,  and,  foreshortened  as  the  vessel 
was,  she  seemed  from  that  point  of  view  a  mere  patch 
of  scarred  and  somewhat  uncleanly  deck  surmounted 
by  a  towering  mass  of  sail.  Two  partly  seen  figures 
were  busy  bending  on  a  gaff-topsail  about  the  foot  of 
her  foremast,  and  Wheelock  turned  as  one  of  them 
came  slouching  aft  when  the  sail  had  been  sent  aloft. 
The  man  wore  dungaree  and  jean,  with  a  dilapidated 
oilskin  coat  over  them,  for  the  wind  was  keen.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  at  least  fifty  years  of  age.  Leaning 
against  the  rail,  he  grinned  at  Wheelock  confidentially. 

"She'll  make  a  short  trip  of  it  if  this  breeze  holds," 
he  said.  "I  guess  you  find  things  kind  of  different 
from  what  they  were  in  the  mail-boats?" 

Jim  Wheelock  nodded  as  he  pulled  up  a  spoke  of  his 
wheel,  for  it  was  that  difference  that  had  brought  the 
smile  to  his  eyes.  It  was  several  years  now  since 
he  had  touched  a  vessel's  wheel,  or  done  more  than 
raise  a  directing  hand  to  the  trimly  uniformed  quarter- 
master who  controlled  the  big  liner's  steering  engine. 
He  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and  held  an  extra- 
master's  certificate,  and  he  had  just  completed  the 
year's  training  in  a  big  British  warship  which  gave  him 
his  commission  as  a  lieutenant  R.N.R.  It  was  certainly 
a  distinct  change  to  figure  as  supernumerary  on  board 
the  Canadian  coasting  schooner  Tyee,  but  he  did  not 
resent  the  fact  that  it  was  the  grizzled,  hard-faced  man 
leaning  on  the  rail  beside  him  who  had  brought  him 
there. 

"Aren't  you  going  to  get  the  main  gaff-topsail  on  to 


JIMMY  RENOUNCES  HIS  CAREER   3 

her?  We'll  carry  smooth  water  with  us  'most  across 
the  Straits,"  he  said. 

This  was  not  to  the  purpose,  as  both  of  them  felt, 
but  it  gave  the  other  man  the  opening  for  which  he  had 
been  looking. 

"No,"  he  replied,  "I  guess  not.  We'll  feel  the  wind 
fresher  when  she  draws  out  from  the  land,  and  there's 
a  streak  of  dry  rot  in  her  mainmast  round  the  partners. 
That  stick  was  sound  right  through  when  we  put  it  into 
her,  but  it  has  stood  the  wind  and  weather  quite  a  while, 
and  I  guess  it's  getting  shaky,  like  its  owner." 

Now,  the  redwood  logs  hewn  in  the  British  Columbian 
forest  as  a  rule  make  excellent  masts,  but  they  naturally 
deteriorate  with  time,  and  in  some  of  them  there  is  hid- 
den a  latent  cause  of  trouble  which  now  and  then  leads 
to  premature  decay.  Jimmy  was  aware  of  this,  and 
fancied  that  he  knew  why  his  companion  had  reminded 
him  of  it.  It  was  scarcely  two  hours  since  he  had 
arrived  on  board  the  Tyee.  He  had  made  a  long  jour- 
ney to  join  her,  because  his  father's  kinsman  Prescott, 
her  mate,  had  sent  for  him ;  and  now,  though  he  almost 
shrank  from  asking  for  the  information,  there  were 
points  on  which  it  was  necessary  that  the  latter  should 
enlighten  him.  He  leaned  on  his  wheel  in  silence  a 
minute  or  two  and  the  smile  died  out  of  his  eyes.  Pres- 
cott  regarded  him  steadily. 

Jim  Wheelock,  who  hitherto  had  taken  life  lightly, 
could  bear  inspection,  for  he  was  a  personable  man,  as 
more  than  one  of  the  young  women  who  traveled  in  the 
big  liner  of  which  he  had  been  mate  had  decided,  and  he 
had  seldom  experienced  much  difficulty  in  finding  a 
pretty  partner  at  any  of  the  dances  given  to  the  war- 


4  THRICE    ARMED 

ship's  officers.  He  had  whimsical  blue  eyes,  and,  though 
he  was  Colonial-born,  a  face  of  the  fair,  clean-skinned 
English  type,  which  had  in  it  an  occasional  suggestion 
of  latent  force.  He  had  a  well-proportioned  frame, 
and  his  life  in  the  mail-boats,  and  the  R.N.R.  training, 
had  set  their  stamp  on  him.  Just  then  he  was  attired 
incongruously  in  an  old  skin-cap,  battered  gum-boots 
which  reached  to  his  knees,  trousers  showing  signs  of 
wear,  and  a  steamboat  mate's  jacket  with  gilt  buttons 
on  it,  in  much  the  same  condition ;  but,  in  spite  of  that, 
he  did  not  appear  the  kind  of  man  one  would  have  ex- 
pected to  come  upon  steering  a  coasting  schooner. 

"What  do  you  think  about  my  father,  Bob?"  he 
asked. 

"What  I  said  in  the  letter,"  the  other  man  replied. 
"I  guess  you  ought  to  understand  it,  now  you've  seen 
him.  Tom's  going  to  looard  fast,  'most  as  fast" — and 
he  seemed  to  search  for  a  metaphor — "as  a  center- 
boarder  when  her  board  won't  come  down.  It  kind  of 
struck  me  it  was  'bout  time  you  came  home  and  looked 
after  things  and  him.  That's  why  I  wrote  you.  He'd 
have  never  done  it,  anyway." 

Jim  Wheelock  knew  this  was  true.  Prescott's  letter, 
which  had  come  to  hand  at  Portsmouth  just  after  he 
had  finished  his  navy  training,  had  somewhat  startled 
him,  and,  as  the  result  of  it,  he  had  forthwith  started 
for  Vancouver,  traveling  second-class  and  by  Colonist 
car,  as  one  does  not  gain  very  much  financially  by 
serving  in  the  R.N.R.  On  arriving  there  he  had  been 
further  startled  by  the  change  in  his  father  whom  he 
had  last  seen  several  years  earlier  when  Tom  Wheelock 
was,  apparently,  at  least,  beyond  the  reach  of  ad- 


JIMMY  RENOUNCES  HIS  CAREER   5 

versity  as  the  owner  of  several  small  coasting  vessels, 
one  of  which  he  insisted  on  sailing  personally,  though 
this  had  not  seemed  needful  at  the  time.  It  was  evident 
to  Jimmy  that  he  had  been  going  to  leeward  very  fast 
in  several  ways  since  then. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "that  is  a  sure  thing.  When  did  the 
change  begin?  I  mean,  when  did  things  first  go  wrong 
with  him?" 

"When  he  lost  the  Fish-hawk — that  was  'most  four 
years  ago.  Anyway,  that  was  when  I  began  to  notice 
it.  Then  the  cannery  people  put  on  their  steamboat, 
and  he  couldn't  keep  the  Eagle  going  without  their 
trade.  She  lay  ashore  in  a  bad  berth  with  a  big  load  of 
Wellington  coal  in  her,  and  it  cost  him  about  a  thou- 
sand dollars  before  she  was  fit  for  sea  again.  Things 
were  slack  that  season,  and  he  gave  Merril  a  bond  for 
the  money.  I  guess  that  made  the  real  trouble.  Mer- 
ril's  a  mighty  hard  man,  and  he  has  been  putting  the 
screw  on  him." 

Jim  Wheelock  looked  thoughtful.  "A  thousand  dol- 
lars isn't  such  a  great  deal  of  money,  after  all.  The 
old  man  seemed  to  have  plenty  of  it  when  I  left  home." 

"Well,"  said  Prescott  dryly,  "it's  quite  certain  he 
hasn't  got  it  now,  and  I've  more  than  a  notion  that 
there's  a  big  bond  on  the  Tyee.  Why  did  he  bring  your 
sister  Ellen  back  from  Toronto?" 

Jim  Wheelock  did  not  know.  He  had,  in  fact,  once 
or  twice  asked  himself  the  same  question  without  finding 
an  answer.  His  sister  Eleanor,  who  was  an  ambitious 
and  capable  young  woman,  was  now  earning  a  pittance 
by  teaching  at  a  ranch  near  New  Westminster ;  but  she 
had  never  given  him  any  reason  in  her  letters  for 


6  THRICE    ARMED 

abandoning  the  studies  she  had  gone  East  to  pursue 
in  Toronto. 

"Anyway,"  said  Prescott,  "it's  quite  clear  to  me  that 
your  father  needs  a  man  with  sense  and  snap  to  stand 
right  behind  him  and  see  that  he  worries  out  of  Merril's 
clutches.  I  don't  know  whether  you  can  do  it — I  can't 
— I'm  no  use  at  business.  Tom  and  I  were  always  hon- 
est. Then,  supposing  you  can  do  that,  you're  'bout 
half-way  through  with  the  thing." 

"Only  half-way?" 

"  'Bout  that.  Tom's  been  drifting  to  looard.  You 
want  to  brace  him  sharp  up  on  the  wind  again." 

He  broke  off  somewhat  abruptly,  for  the  scuttle  slide 
in  the  deckhouse  roof  was  flung  back,  and  a  man  below 
lifted  his  head  above  it. 

"Come  right  down  and  get  your  supper,  Jimmy.  Bob 
will  take  your  wheel,"  he  said. 

Jimmy  left  the  helm  to  Prescott,  and  with  an  effort 
he  braced  himself  for  the  interview  before  him  as  he 
descended  to  the  little  stuffy  cabin.  It  was  dimly 
lighted  by  an  oil-lamp  that  creaked  as  it  swung, 
though  the  Tyee  was  ploughing  her  way  westward 
steadily  as  yet.  A  little  stove  made  it  almost  in- 
tolerably hot,  and  the  swirl  of  brine  beneath  the  lee 
quarter  filled  it  with  a  sound  that  was  like  the  rattle  of 
sliding  gravel.  Jimmy  sat  down,  and  ate  the  pork, 
potatoes,  fresh  bread,  and  desiccated  apples  set  before 
him,  which  he  surmised  might  be  considered  somewhat 
of  a  banquet  on  board  the  Tyee,  and  then  he  took  out 
his  pipe  and  turned  toward  his  father  as  he  filled  his 
pannikin  again  with  strong  green  tea.  He  had  ar- 
rived in  Vancouver  only  that  afternoon,  and  they  had 


JIMMY  RENOUNCES  HIS  CAREER   7 

had  no  time  for  conversation  in  the  hurry  of  getting 
to  sea. 

"Take  some  whisky  in  it?"  asked  Tom  Wheelock. 
"It's  not  much  of  a  supper  after  what  you've  been 
used  to  on  board  the  liners." 

"No,  thanks,"  said  Jimmy.  "I'm  glad  I  didn't  miss 
you." 

"Got  your  wire,"  said  Wheelock,  who  helped  himself 
liberally  to  the  whisky.  "We  weren't  through  with  the 
loading  until  yesterday,  and,  though  the  folks  want 
those  sawmill  fixings  bad,  I  figured  we  could  wait  an- 
other twenty-four  hours.  It's  good  to  see  you  sitting 
there;  but  I  don't  know  yet  what  brought  you  over. 
It's  quite  a  long  way." 

Jimmy  spent  some  time  in  filling  his  pipe.  He  was 
a  truthful  person,  and  Prescott,  who  wrote  the  letter, 
had  pledged  him  to  secrecy;  then,  too,  he  was  by  no 
means  certain  that  his  father  would  appreciate  what 
either  of  them  had  done,  or  would  consider  it  in  any 
way  necessary.  He  also  had  scarcely  got  used  to  the 
change  in  his  circumstances  and  surroundings,  and  did 
not  feel  quite  at  ease.  On  the  last  liner  he  sailed  in, 
the  officers  dined  in  the  saloon,  and,  though  the  battle- 
ship's wardroom  was  less  luxurious,  it  was,  at  least, 
very  different  from  the  Tyee's  quarter-cabin.  Tin 
pannikins  and  plates  of  indurated  ware  lay  on  a  soiled, 
uncovered  table ;  a  grimy  brown  blanket  from  the  skip- 
per's bunk  trailed  down  across  the  locker  that  served 
as  a  settee ;  and  the  fish-oil  lamp  smelt  horribly.  Then 
he  glanced  at  his  father,  who  sat  silent,  sipping  his 
tea,  which  was  freely  laced  with  whisky. 

Tom  Wheelock  was  by  no  means  dressed  as  neatly  as 


8  THRICE    ARMEI> 

most  of  the  Vancouver  wharf-hands,  and  he  looked  like 
a  man  who  had  lost  heart,  and  pride  as  well.  He  was 
gaunt  and  big-boned,  with  a  seaman's  weather-darkened 
face,  but  there  was  weariness  and  something  that  sug- 
gested vacancy  in  its  expression.  He  and  Jimmy  had 
the  same  blue  eyes,  and  they  were  kindly  and  honest  in 
the  case  of  each ;  but  Tom  Wheelock's  were  a  trifle 
watery,  and  there  was  a  certain  bagginess  under  them, 
while  his  mouth  was  slack.  In  fact,  the  man,  as  his  son 
recognized,  appeared  to  have  sunk  into  a  state  of  limp- 
ness that  was  mental  as  well  as  physical. 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  little  laugh,  "I  don't  quite 
know.  There  were,  you  see,  several  reasons.  To  begin 
with,  I  had  to  come  out  of  the  mail-boat  for  my  year's 
training,  and  when  that  was  over  there  were  a  good 
many  men  on  the  Company's  list  to  be  worked  off 
before  they  wanted  me  again.  Trade  is  slack  over 
there,  and  it  seemed  wiser  to  await  my  turn.  After 
all,  it  doesn't  cost  so  much  to  come  across  second-class 
and  Colonist;  and  I  guessed  you  would  be  glad  to  see 
me." 

"So  I  am;"  and  there  was  no  doubt  that  Wheelock 
meant  it.  "I've  been  wanting  you  quite  a  while,  Jimmy. 
Things  aren't  going  well  with  me.  Take  some  whisky  ?" 

It  was  evident  to  Jimmy  that  his  father  already  had 
taken  as  much  as  was  good  for  most  men ;  and  he  did 
not  often  shrink  from  a  responsibility,  that  is,  when  he 
recognized  it  as  such,  which  is  now  and  then  a  little 
difficult  when  one  is  young. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "this  time  I  guess  I  will." 

He  took  the  bottle,  and,  after  helping  himself  spar- 
ingly, contrived  to  slip  it  out  of  sight  on  the  locker. 


JIMMY  RENOUNCES  HIS  CAREER   9 

"How's  Eleanor?"  he  asked. 

"Quite  well;  but  though  she  has  her  mother's  grit, 
life's  hard  on  the  girl.  Ellen  could  have  done  'most 
anything  if  she'd  got  her  diplomas,  or  whatever  they 
are,  and  I  had  figured  I'd  do  something  for  one  of  my 
children  when  I  sent  her  back  East.  It  was  your  moth- 
er's brother — the  brains  come  from  that  side  of  the 
family — did  everything  for  you.  A  kind  of  pity  you 
and  he  quarreled,  Jimmy !" 

Jimmy  smiled  drily  as  he  remembered  the  year  he 
had  spent  in  Winnipeg  with  the  grim  business  man 
before  the  call  of  the  sea  that  he  was  born  to  listen  to 
grew  irresistible  and  the  rupture  came.  Young  as  he 
was  then,  he  had  proved  himself  equal  in  strength  of 
purpose  to  the  hard  old  man,  and  had  gone  to  sea  in  an 
English  ship.  It  cost  his  father  fifty  pounds  for  his 
outfit  and  premium,  and  that  was  all  that  Tom 
Wheelock  had  done  for  him.  He  had  made  his  own 
way  into  the  steamers,  and  the  extra-master  certificate 
and  the  commission  in  the  R.N.R.  he  owed  to  himself. 
Now  it  was  evident  that  he  must  renounce  all  that  they 
might  bring  him — at  least,  for  a  while. 

*SI  don't  think  we  ever  would  have  hit  it  off  together ; 
and  I  can't  help  a  fancy  that,  after  all,  he  didn't  blame 
me  very  much  for  taking  my  own  way  in  spite  of  him," 
he  said.  "Still,  it  is  a  pity  Eleanor  had  to  come  back. 
I  suppose  keeping  her  in  Toronto  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion?" 

Wheelock's  eyes  seemed  to  grow  a  trifle  bloodshot, 
and  his  voice  sank  to  a  hoarser  note.  "Quite.  I  might 
have  done  it  but  for  the  bond  I  gave  Merril  when  the 
Eagle  went  ashore.  It  wasn't  that  big  a  one,  but  he 


10  THRICE    ARMED 

fixed  up  quite  a  lot  of  things  I  never  figured  on.  I 
was  to  insure  to  full  value,  and  have  her  repaired  when- 
ever his  surveyor  considered  she  wanted  it.  Twice  the 
man  ran  me  up  a  big  unnecessary  bill,  and  I  had  to 
go  to  Merril  for  the  money.  Now  the  boat's  his,  and 
there's  a  bond  on  the  Tyee.  When  the  old  man  goes 
under,  you'll  remember  who  it  was  squeezed  the  life  out 
of  him,  Jimmy.  Say,  where  d'you  put  that  whisky?" 

"I'm  not  quite  through  with  it  yet ;"  and  Jimmy,  who 
did  not  pass  it  to  him,  smiled  reassuringly.  "Anyway, 
I  wouldn't  worry  too  much  about  Merril.  I've  a  few 
dollars  laid  by,  and  I'm  going  to  stay  right  here  and 
look  after  you.  Bob  Prescott  tells  me  the  Siwash  wants 
to  go  ashore,  and  that  makes  a  berth  for  me.  It's 
scarcely  likely  the  Company  will  want  me  for  three 
months  or  more." 

The  old  man  looked  at  him  with  a  gleam  of  compre- 
hension in  his  watery  eyes.  "Jimmy,"  he  said,  "you 
have  been  a  good  son — and  it  wasn't  quite  my  fault  I 
never  did  anything  for  you.  Your  mother  was  often 
ailing,  and  when  I  sent  her  East  twice  to  the  specialists 
the  freights  I  was  getting  would  scarcely  foot  the  bill. 
Oh,  yes,  things  were  generally  tight  with  me.  Now 
they're  tight  again;  but  when  Merril  wants  my  blood 
you've  come  back  to  see  it  out  with  me." 

He  made  a  gesture  of  weariness.  "Well,  I  guess  I'll 
turn  in.  I've  been  trailing  round  the  city  most  of  the 
day  after  a  man  who  owes  me  forty  dollars — and  I'm 
'way  from  being  as  young  as  I  used  to  be." 

He  climbed  somewhat  stiffly  into  his  bunk,  and 
Jimmy  went  up  on  deck.  It  was  dark  now,  and  the 
Tyee,  leaning  down  until  the  foot  of  her  lee  bulwarks 


JIMMY  RENOUNCES  HIS  CAREER  11 

was  almost  in  the  foam,  swept  through  the  dark  water 
with  a  leisurely  dip  and  swing.  A  dim  star  or  two 
hung  over  her  mastheads,  and  the  peak  of  the  big  gaff- 
topsail  swung  athwart  them  a  little  blacker  than  the 
night;  but  there  was  no  shimmer  of  light  on  all  the 
water,  and  the  schooner  swung  out  to  westward,  vague 
and  shadowy,  with  one  blurred  shape  gripping  her 
straining  wheel.  It  reminded  Jimmy  of  the  sailing-ship 
days  when  he  had  set  his  teeth  and  borne  what  came  to 
him — wet  and  cold,  utter  weariness,  want  of  sleep,  pur- 
poseless exactions,  and  brutal  hazing.  Those  black 
days  had  gone.  He  had  lived  through  them,  and  had 
been  about  to  reap  his  reward  when  the  summons  had 
come  and  he  had  gone  back  West  to  his  duty.  The 
broken-down  man  in  the  little  cabin  needed  him,  as  Jim- 
my, who  tried  not  to  admit  the  greatness  of  the  change 
in  him,  realized.  Then  he  turned  as  Prescott  spoke  to 
him  from  the  wheel. 

"Now  you've  had  a  talk  to  him,  I  guess  you'll  under- 
stand why  I  sent  for  you,"  he  said.  "You've  got  to 
take  hold  and  straighten  things.  Tom's  been  letting 
go  fast." 

Jimmy  Wheelock  said  nothing,  but  he  knew  that  in  the 
meanwhile  he  must  put  his  career  aside ;  and  once  more 
he  set  his  lips  and  braced  himself  to  face  the  task  be- 
fore him  as  he  had  done  often  in  the  sailing-ship  days. 


CHAPTER  II 

TO    WINDWAED 

TWO  days  had  slipped  away  since  Jimmy  joine3 
the  Tyee,  when,  with  her  dew-wet  canvas  slat- 
ting at  every  roll,  she  crept  out  from  the  nar- 
row waters  into  the  Pacific.  Astern  of  her  the  Olym- 
pians towered  high  above  the  forests  of  Washington,  a 
great  serrated  ridge  of  frosted  silver  that  cut  coldly 
white  against  the  blue  of  the  morning  sky.  To  star- 
board the  shore  of  Vancouver  Island  rose,  a  faint  blur 
of  misty  pines,  and  ahead  the  sea  was  dimmed  by  drift- 
ing vapors  out  of  which  the  long  swell  swung  glassily. 
At  times  a  wandering  zephyr  crisped  it  with  a  darker 
smear,  and  the  Tyee  crawled  ahead  a  little.  Then  she 
stopped  again,  heaving  her  bows  high  out  of  the  oily 
sea,  while  everything  in  her  banged  and  rattled. 

There  was  nothing  that  any  one  on  board  her  could 
do  but  wait  for  the  breeze  and  wonder  whether  it  would 
come  from  the  right  direction.  Jimmy  sat  on  the  deck- 
house with  his  pipe  in  his  hand,  and  Tom  Wheelock, 
whose  face  looked  careworn  in  the  early  light  and 
showed  pasty  gray  patches  amidst  its  bronze,  glanced 
westward  a  trifle  anxiously  as  he  held  the  jerking 
wheel. 

"It's  a  kind  of  pity  we  lost  that  breeze,"  he  said. 

12 


TO   WINDWARD  13 

"The  people  up  yonder  want  those  sawmill  fixings,  and 
with  the  wind  from  the  east  we'd  'most.have  fetched  the 
Inlet  to-night.  There  was  talk  of  somebody  putting  a 
steamboat  on,  but  the  mill's  a  small  one,  and  they  fig- 
ured they'd  give  me  a  show  as  long  as  I  could  keep 
them  going.  I've  got  to  do  it.  There's  a  living  in  the 
contract." 

Then  his  face  hardened  suddenly,  and  he  sighed. 
"That  is,  there  would  have  been  if  Merril  hadn't  got 
his  grip  on  me.  That  man  wants  everything." 

He  appeared  about  to  say  something  further,  but 
just  then  Prescott  flung  the  scuttle  slide  back,  and  a 
smell  of  coffee  and  frizzling  pork  flowed  out  of  it. 

"If  you  want  your  breakfast,  Tom,  I  guess  you'd 
better  get  it,"  he  said,  and  lumbered  round  the  deck- 
house toward  the  wheel. 

Wheelock  went  below,  and  Jimmy,  who  seemed  to 
forget  that  he  had  meant  to  light  his  pipe,  glanced 
thoughtfully  at  Prescott. 

"Who  is  this  Merril,  Bob?"  he  asked. 

Prescott  made  a  vague  gesture.  "I  guess  he's  every- 
thing. He  has  a  finger  in  most  of  what  goes  on  in 
this  Province,  and  feels  round  with  it  for  the  money. 
Calls  himself  general  broker  and  ship-store  dealer ;  but 
he  has  money  in  everything,  from  bush  ranches  to 
steamboats." 

"You  mean  he  holds  stock  in  them?" 

"No,"  said  Prescott,  "I  guess  I  don't.  I'm  not  smart 
at  business,  and  Tom  isn't  either,  or  he'd  never  have  let 
Merril  get  his  claws  on  him;  but  it's  quite  plain  to  me 
that  stocks  don't  count  along  with  mortgages  and 
bonds.  When  you  buy  stock  you  take  your  chances, 


14  THRICE    ARMED 

and  quite  often  that's  'bout  all;  but  when  you  hold  a 
bond  at  a  big  interest  you  usually  get  the  ship  or  mill. 
Anyway,  that's  how  Merril  fixes  it." 

Jimmy  lighted  his  pipe,  but  he  looked  more  thought- 
ful than  ever,  as,  in  fact,  he  was.  Hitherto,  he  had 
taken  life  lightly,  for,  after  all,  wet  and  cold,  scream- 
ing gale  and  stinging  spray,  are  things  one  gets  used 
to  and  faces  unconcernedly ;  but  Jimmy  could  recognize 
a  responsibility,  and  he  realized  that  there  was  now  to 
be  a  change.  Tom  Wheelock  was  growing  prematurely 
old  and  shaky,  and  it  was,  it  seemed,  his  son's  part  to 
free  him  from  the  load  of  debt  that  was  crushing  him, 
if  this  by  any  means  could  be  done ;  if  not,  at  least  to 
share  it  with  him.  He  feared  it  would  be  the  latter. 
Hitherto  he  had  waged  only  the  clean,  primitive  strife 
with  the  restless  sea;  but  he  did  not  shrink  from  the 
prospect  of  the  meaner  and  more  arduous  conflict  with 
the  wiles  of  man  and  the  forces  of  capital,  or  consider 
that  in  renouncing  his  career  he  was  doing  a  commend- 
able thing.  He  was  by  no  means  brilliant  intellectually, 
though  he  had  a  certain  shrewdness  and  a  ready  wit; 
and  it  only  occurred  to  him  that  the  course  he  had 
decided  on  was  the  obvious  one.  He  did  not  even  think 
it  worth  while  to  mention  that  he  had  done  so,  which 
indeed  would  have  been  unnecessary,  since  Prescott 
seemed  to  take  it  for  granted. 

"I  believe  you  had  the  wind  from  the  east  for  sev- 
eral days,"  he  said.  "Why  didn't  you  run  across 
before?" 

"Well,"  replied  Prescott  reflectively,  "we  might  have 
done  so,  but  Tom  didn't  seem  greatly  stuck  on  trying 
it.  Took  time  over  his  loading  when  he  got  your  wire. 


TO    WINDWARD  15 

Perhaps  he  didn't  want  to  leave  you  hanging  round 
Vancouver  until  we  got  back  again." 

Jimmy  said  nothing — he  had  partly  expected  this ; 
and  while  he  smoked  his  second  pipe,  the  vapors  were 
rolled  apart,  and  the  breeze  came  down  on  them.  Un- 
fortunately it  came  from  the  northwest,  which,  as  the 
sawmill  they  were  bound  for  stood  at  the  head  of  a  deep 
inlet  on  the  west  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  was  ahead 
of  them ;  so  for  a  while  they  let  her  stretch  out  into 
the  Pacific,  close-hauled  upon  the  starboard  tack. 

The  Tyee  was  comparatively  fast,  and,  under  all  the 
sail  they  could  pile  on  to  her,  excepting  the  main  gaff- 
topsail,  she  drove  along  with  a  wide  curl  of  foam  under 
her  lee  bow  and  the  froth  lapping  high  and  white  on 
her  side.  Then  by  degrees  the  long  roll  of  the  Pacific 
heaved  itself  up  into  steep,  blue-sided  seas  with  tops  of 
incandescent  whiteness,  and  as  she  lurched  over  them 
the  spray  whirled  in  filmy  clouds  from  her  plunging 
bows.  Still  the  breeze  freshened,  and  by  noon  they 
hove  her  to  with  jibs  aback  while  they  hauled  two  reefs 
down  in  her  mainsail,  and  it  became  necessary  for  some- 
body to  crawl  out  to  the  end  of  its  tilting  boom,  which 
stretched  a  good  fathom  beyond  her  stern.  Prescott 
was  a  little  too  old  for  that  work ;  Tom  Wheelock  held 
the  wheel ;  and  the  Siwash  deck-hand  was  busy  forward. 
Jimmy  laughed  as  he  swung  himself  up  to  the  foot- 
rope. 

"It's  several  years  since  I've  done  anything  of  this 
kind,  but  I  dare  say  I  can  tie  those  after-points  in," 
he  said. 

He  clawed  his  way  out,  and,  as  he  hu^g  with  waist 
across  the  spar  and  both  hands  busy  while  the  Tyee, 


16  THRICE    ARMED 

flinging  the  spray  all  over  her,  plunged  upon  the  long, 
foam-tipped  roll,  a  big  Empress  liner  came  up  from  the 
eastward,  white  and  majestic.  She  drove  close  by  the 
schooner  with  a  slow  and  stately  dip  and  swing,  and 
Jimmy  Wheelock,  clinging  to  the  Tyee's  reef-points, 
smiled  somewhat  curiously  as  he  glanced  up  at  her. 
Her  tall  side  rose  above  him  like  a  wall,  and  he  saw  the 
cluster  of  saloon  passengers  beneath  the  tier  of  deck- 
houses move  toward  the  rail  to  gaze  down  upon  the 
little  dingy  vessel,  and  the  two  trim  officers  high  above 
them  in  the  sunshine  on  the  slanting  bridge.  That  was 
his  world — one  in  which  steam  did  the  hard  work,  and 
man  merely  pressed  the  telegraph  handle  or  laid  a  finger 
on  a  spoke  of  the  little  steering  wheel;  but  it  was  a 
world  on  which  he  had  turned  his  back,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  be  gained  by  repining. 

He  broke  two  of  his  nails  before  he  finished  his  task 
and  dropped  from  the  footrope  to  the  Tyee's  deck,  and 
the  liner  had  sunk  to  a  gleaming  white  blur  and  a 
smoke-trail  on  the  rim  of  the  sea  before  they  had  reefed 
the  foresail  and  once  more  got  way  on  her.  Then 
Prescott  grinned  at  Jimmy  as  he  glanced  toward  the 
fading  smear  of  vapor. 

"A  head-wind's  quite  a  little  matter  to  that  boat," 
he  said.  "I  guess  you'd  feel  more  at  home  on  board 
of  her?" 

Jimmy  laughed  good-humoredly.  "Perhaps  I  would, 
but  after  all  I  don't  know  that  it  counts  for  very 
much." 

They  came  round  some  hours  later,  and,  heading  her 
in  for  the  land  on  the  other  tack,  found  how  little 
they  had  made  to  windward,  whereupon  there  followed 


TO   WINDWARD  17 

a  consultation.  Prescott  was  for  running  back  and 
coming  to  an  anchor  in  smooth  water  to  wait  for  a 
shift  of  wind,  but  Wheelock  would  go  on.  He  blinked 
at  the  white  sea  to  windward  with  watery  eyes,  while 
the  Tyee,  putting  her  bows  in,  flung  the  spray  all  over 
her;  but  there  was  a  certain  grimness  in  Tom 
Wheelock's  eyes,  for,  if  he  was  not  smart  at  business, 
he  was  at  least  a  resolute  seaman. 

"Those  sawmill  people  want  their  fixings,  and  if  we're 
to  hold  on  to  their  contract  I  guess  they've  got  to  have 
them,"  he  said.  "She  should  thrash  down  to  the  Inlet 
by  to-morrow  night.  I  figure  she'd  go  along  a  little 
easier  without  her  staysail." 

They  hauled  it  down ;  but  the  Tyee,  being  loaded  deep 
with  heavy  machinery,  was  not  appreciably  drier  after- 
ward, and  by  the  time  the  angry,  saffron  sunset  faded 
off  the  foam-crested  sea,  she  put  her  bows  in  somewhat 
frequently.  Then  there  was  a  thud  as  she  charged  a 
big  comber,  and  the  frothy  cataract  that  seethed  in 
over  her  weather  rail  swirled  aft  a  foot  deep,  while  the 
spray  blew  all  over  her.  Jimmy,  buttoned  to  the  throat 
in  oilskins,  stood  at  her  wheel  dripping,  through  four 
hours  of  darkness ;  and  then,  crawling  down  into  the 
little  cabin,  which  was  intolerably  foul,  flung  himself 
into  his  bunk  and  incontinently  fell  asleep,  with  the 
thud  and  swish  of  falling  water  going  on  above  him. 
When  he  awakened,  his  first  proceeding  was  to  grope 
for  the  button  that  would  summon  a  steward  boy  to 
bring  him  his  morning  coffee,  but  as  he  could  not  find 
it  he  looked  around  and  saw  his  wet  oilskins,  which  had 
shaken  off  the  hook,  sliding  amidst  the  water  up  and 
down  the  Tyee's  cabin  floor.  Then  he  remembered  sud- 


18  THRICE    ARMED 

denly,  and,  dropping  from  his  bunk,  put  on  the  oil- 
skins and  went  up  on  deck. 

A  sheet  of  spray  temporarily  blinded  him  as  he 
crawled  out  of  the  scuttle,  and  then  there  was  little  to  be 
seen  but  a  haze  of  it  flying  athwart  a  gray  sea  lined  by 
frothy  ridges  and  smears  of  low-driving  cloud.  The 
Tyee's  slanted  mastheads  seemed  to  rake  through  the 
latter,  and  she  was  wet  everywhere;  but  she  was  still 
hammering  to  windward  with  bows  that  swung  up 
streaming  over  the  long  seas.  On  the  one  hand,  a 
dingy  smear,  that  might  have  been  a  point  with  pines  on 
it,  lifted  itself  out  of  the  grayness,  and  Tom  Wheelock 
pointed  to  it  as  he  swayed  with  his  wheel.  His  wet  face 
was  almost  gray,  and  Jimmy  could  see  the  suggestive 
bagginess  under  his  eyes. 

"I  guess  we  should  fetch  the  Inlet  by  dark  if  it  doesn't 
harden  any  more ;  but  we'll  have  another  reef  down  now 
you're  up,"  he  said. 

They  got  the  reef  in  with  some  difficulty,  for  all  of 
them  were  needed  to  haul  the  leech-earing  down;  and, 
because  the  Siwash  hand  was  a  better  boatman  than 
sailor,  Jimmy  went  out  to  the  end  of  the  boom  again 
to  tie  the  after-points.  When  he  came  back  the  Tyee 
proceeded  a  little  more  dryly,  with  the  big  gray  seas 
that  were  topped  with  livid  froth  and  had  deep  hollows 
between  them  rolling  up  in  long  succession  to  meet  her. 
She  went  through  some  of  them,  for  the  sawmill  ma- 
chinery was  a  dead-weight  in  her,  and  a  white  cataract 
foamed  across  her  forward.  When  she  plunged  into 
one  that  was  larger  than  usual,  Prescott,  who  now  stood 
knee  deep  at  her  wheel,  shook  his  head. 

"Tom  didn't  ought  to  expect  it  of  her,"  he  said.    "He 


TO    WINDWARD  19 

wouldn't  have  held  her  at  it  if  he  hadn't  been  mighty 
afraid  of  losing  that  contract." 

Jimmy  made  no  answer.  He  understood  by  this  time 
how  his  father  was  circumstanced,  and  had  discovered 
already  that  the  man  who  stands  between  the  devil  and 
the  deep  sea  cannot  afford  to  be  particular.  Merril,  who 
held  a  bond  on  the  Tyee,  might,  it  seemed,  very  well 
stand  for  the  devil. 

They  thrashed  her  to  windward  most  of  that  day. 
The  sea  got  worse,  and  there  was  not  a  dry  stitch  on 
any  of  them;  but  just  at  sunset  the  clouds  were  rent 
apart,  and  Wheelock,  who  was  standing  on  the  deck- 
house, pointed  to  something  that  loomed  amidst  the 
vapor  as  they  reeled  inshore. 

"The  head !"  he  said.  "The  Inlet's  about  two  miles 
beyond  it." 

Prescott  glanced  at  Jimmy  as  he  pulled  up  the 
wheel.  "With  a  blame  ugly  tide-rip  setting  dead  to 
windward  across  the  mouth  of  it!" 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  though  naturally  he  was  aware 
that  when  the  ocean  streams  run  against  the  breeze 
they  are  very  apt  to  pile  up  whatever  sea  there  is  into 
curling,  hollow-crested  combers.  A  craft  of  the  Tyee's 
size  will  often  snugly  ride  out  a  hard  gale — that  is,  if 
she  is  hove-to  under  a  strip  or  two  of  canvas;  but  to 
drive  her  to  windward  when  she  must  meet  the  onslaught 
of  the  seas,  and  go  through  them,  is  an  altogether  dif- 
ferent matter,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  she  was  already 
doing  as  much  as  any  one  reasonably  could  expect  from 
her.  Then  his  father  came  down  from  the  deckhouse. 

"Well,"  he  said,   "she  has  got  to   go  through  it; 


20  THRICE    ARMED 

those  people  want  their  fixings.  I  guess  we'll  heave  her 
round." 

The  words  were  simple,  but  they  implied  a  good  deal. 
Wheelock  could  have  heaved  his  schooner  to,  or  could 
have  run  away  for  shelter  in  another  inlet  down  the 
coast;  but,  as  he  had  said,  the  sawmill  people  wanted 
their  machinery,  and  when  he  must  choose  between  it 
and  the  devil  he  would  sooner  face  his  ancient  enemy 
the  sea.  Its  attack  was  honest  and  open,  and  the  man 
with  nerve  enough  might  meet  and  withstand  the  charge 
of  its  seething  combers.  Quickness  of  hand  and  rude, 
primitive  valor  counted  here,  but  it  was  otherwise  in 
the  insidious  conflict  with  the  human  schemer.  Tom 
Wheelock's  eyes  were  watery,  but  there  was  a  snap  in 
them  as  he  signed  to  Prescott  and  laid  his  hands  on 
the  wheel. 

"Get  forward,  Jimmy,  and  tend  your  head-sheets," 
he  said.  "We'll  have  her  round." 

She  came  round,  but  none  too  readily ;  and  as  they 
stretched  out  seaward  Jimmy  had  a  brief  vision  of  great 
rocks  and  hollows  filled  with  pines  that  opened  out  and 
closed  on  one  another.  Then  as  he  glanced  to  windward 
he  saw  the  seatops  heave  athwart  a  blaze  of  crimson  and 
saffron  low  down  under  ragged  wisps  of  cloud. 

They  brought  her  round  again  presently,  and  she 
reeled  in  shoreward  to  weather  the  second  head  on  that 
side  of  the  Inlet,  with  her  little  three-reefed  mainsail  wet 
to  its  peak  and  the  two  jibs  above  her  bowsprit  stream- 
ing at  every  plunge,  while  the  big  combers  in  the  tide- 
way smote  her  weather-bow  and  poured  out  to  leeward 
in  long  wisps  of  brine.  Still,  she  was  slowly  opening  up 
the  sheltered  Inlet,  and  it  was  only  a  question  whether 


TO   WINDWARD  21 

she  would  go  clear  enough  of  the  head  on  that  tack. 
It  was,  however,  a  somewhat  momentous  question,  for 
it  seemed  to  Jimmy  very  doubtful  whether  she  would 
come  round  with  them  again. 

Tom  Wheelock  stayed  at  the  helm,  and  the  head  that 
had  grown  dim  again  lifted  its  vast  rock  wall  higher 
and  higher  out  of  the  whirling  vapors  that  streamed 
amid  the  shadowy  pines.  It  grew  very  close  to  them, 
but  the  Tyee  was  half-buried  forward  most  of  the  time, 
and  the  break  beyond  the  crag,  where  smooth  water 
lay,  had  crept  a  little  forward  instead  of  aft  from 
under  her  lee-bow  when  a  comber  higher  than  the  rest 
hove  itself  up  to  weather,  and  fell  upon  her.  It  foamed 
across  her  forward,  and  when  it  went  seething  aft  as 
she  swung  her  bows  up  there  was  a  crash,  and  Tom 
Wheelock  loosed  the  spinning  wheel. 

Jimmy  saw  him  strike  the  bulwark  and  Prescott 
clutch  him;  but,  knowing  that  the  plunge  would  prob- 
ably make  an  end  of  the  schooner  if  she  rammed  an- 
other sea,  he  sprang  to  the  wheel.  She  was  coming  up 
when  he  seized  it,  which  almost  threw  him  over  it,  and 
there  was  a  bang  like  a  rifle-shot  as  one  of  her  stream- 
ing jibs  was  blown  away.  The  veins  swelled  on  his  fore- 
head as  he  forced  the  helm  up,  and  as  the  Tyee  fell  off 
on  her  course  again  he  had  a  momentary  vision  of  a 
great  wall  of  rock  that  seemed  to  be  creeping  up  on 
them.  He  also  saw  a  man  lying  in  the  water  that 
sluiced  about  her  deck,  while  another  who  strove  to  hold 
him  with  one  hand  clung  to  a  stanchion.  Then,  while 
he  set  his  teeth  and  braced  himself  against  the  drag  of 
the  wheel,  he  could  discern  nothing  but  a  haze  of  flying 


22  THRICE    ARMED 

brine,  and  could  feel  the  hard-pressed  vessel  strain  and 
tremble  under  him. 

He  did  not  know  how  long  the  tension  lasted,  nor  for 
a  minute  or  two  did  he  see  much  of  Prescott  and  his 
father ;  but  at  last  the  rocks  seemed  to  slide  away,  and 
the  Tyee  drove  through  the  furious  turmoil  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Inlet.  Then  the  wind  fell  suddenly,  and, 
rising  upright,  the  dripping  schooner  slid  forward  be- 
neath long  ranks  of  misty  pines.  He  left  the  helm  to 
the  Siwash,  and  Prescott  and  he  between  them  got 
Wheelock  down  into  the  little  cabin.  He  gasped  when 
they  had  put  him  into  his  bunk  and  poured  a  liberal 
measure  of  raw  whisky  down  his  throat. 

"Well,"  he  said  faintly,  "I  guess  we've  saved  that 
contract.  You  weathered  the  head?" 

"We  did,"  answered  Prescott.  "Jimmy  grabbed  the 
wheel  in  time.  Seems  to  me  we  had  'bout  twenty  fath- 
oms to  spare.  Feel  as  if  you'd  broke  anything  inside 
you?" 

Tom  Wheelock  moved  himself  a  little,  and  groaned. 
"No,"  he  said,  "I  guess  I  haven't ;  but  it  hurt  me  con- 
siderably when  I  washed  up  against  the  rail.  Mightn't 
have  felt  it  one  time,  but  I'm  getting  old  and  shaky. 
Anyway,  you  can  light  out  and  get  your  anchor  clear. 
I'm  feeling  kind  of  dizzy." 

Prescott  went  up  the  ladder,  but  Jimmy  stayed  where 
he  was,  and  did  not  go  up  on  deck  until  his  father's  eyes 
closed.  It  was  quite  dark,  and  he  could  see  only  vague, 
shadowy  mountains  black  against  the  sky.  Presently, 
a  long  Siwash  canoe  with  several  men  paddling  hard  on 
board  her  came  sliding  down  the  dim  lane  of  water  that 


TO    WINDWARD  23 

seemed  to  wind  into  the  heart  of  the  forests.  She 
stopped  alongside,  and  a  man  climbed  on  board. 

"We've  been  expecting  you  the  last  two  days,  and 
I'm  glad  you  got  in  now,"  he  said.  "Merril,  who  talks 
of  running  a  steamer  up  this  coast,  has  been  worrying 
our  Vancouver  people  to  make  him  an  offer  for  their 
carrying.  It's  quite  likely  they'd  have  made  a  deal 
with  him  if  you'd  kept  us  waiting." 

They  made  the  canoe  fast,  and  the  Tyee  slowly  crept 
on  beneath  the  shadowy  mountains  and  the  misty  pines, 
for  only  a  faint  air  of  wind  disturbed  the  deep  stillness 
here.  Jim  Wheelock,  however,  noticed  very  little  as  he 
leaned  on  the  rail  with  a  vindictive  hatred  in  his  heart 
for  the  man  who,  it  seemed,  was  bent  upon  his  father's 
ruin. 


CHAPTER  III 

JIMMY    MAKES    FRIENDS 

THEY  had  landed  the  machinery,  and  partly 
loaded  the  Tyee  with  dressed  lumber,  when 
Jimmy  Wheelock,  who  was  aching  in  every  limb 
after  a  day's  arduous  toil,  sat,  cigar  in  hand,  in  the 
office  of  the  sawmill  manager.  It  was  singularly  un- 
tidy as  well  as  unclean,  for  few  men  in  that  country 
have  time  to  consider  their  comfort.  Odd  bottles  of 
engine-oil  and  samples  of  belting  lay  amid  the  litter  of 
sketches  and  specifications,  while  the  plates  and  provi- 
sion-cans on  the  table  suggested  that  the  manager  and 
his  guest  had  just  finished  their  evening  meal.  The 
window  was  open  wide,  and  a  clean  smell  of  freshly 
cut  cedar  drifted  in  with  the  aromatic  fragrance  of 
the  pines.  From  where  he  sat  Wheelock  could  see  them 
rolling  up  the  steep  hillside  with  the  white  mists 
streaming  athwart  them,  and  the  narrow  lane  of  clear, 
green  water  winding  past  their  feet.  There  was  deep 
stillness  among  them,  for  the  mill  was  silent  at  last,  and 
it  was  only  now  and  then  that  a  voice  rose  faintly 
from  the  little  wooden  settlement  which  straggled  up 
the  riverside. 

The  manager,  dressed  in  a  store  jacket  and  trousers 
of  jean,  lay  upon  what  seemed  to  be  a  tox>l-chest,  and 

24 


JIMMY  MAKES   FRIENDS  25 

he  had,  like  Wheelock,  a  cigar  of  exceptional  flavor  in 
his  hand.  He  was  a  young,  dark-eyed  man,  somewhat 
spare  of  frame,  and  when  he  spoke,  his  quick,  nervous 
gestures  rather  than  his  accent,  which  was  by  no  means 
marked,  proclaimed  him  an  American  of  the  Pacific 
Slope.  It  was  characteristic  that  Wheelock,  who  had 
spent  less  than  a  week  in  his  company,  already  felt  on 
familiar  terms  with  him.  He  had  discovered  that  it  is 
usually  difficult  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  an  in- 
sular Englishman  in  anything  like  that  time. 

"Old  man  feeling  any  better  this  afternoon?"  in- 
quired his  companion. 

"He  says  so;"  and  Jimmy  looked  thoughtful,  as  he 
had  done  somewhat  frequently  of  late,  though  this  had 
not  been  a  habit  of  his.  "Still,  he  was  flung  rather 
heavily  against  the  rail,  and,  though  he  insisted  on 
Working,  I'm  not  quite  satisfied  about  him." 

The  American  nodded  comprehendingly.  "Parents 
are  a  responsibility  now  and  then.  I  lost  mine,  though. 
Raised  myself  somehow  down  in  Washington.  Anyway, 
your  father  has  been  going  down  grade  fast  the  two 
years  I've  known  him,  and  I'm  sorry.  He's  a  straight 
man.  I  like  him." 

A  trace  of  darker  color  crept  into  Jimmy's  bronze, 
though  he  was  aware  that  candor  of  that  kind  is  usual 
on  the  Pacific  Slope,  and  there  was  nothing  he  could 
resent  in  his  companion's  manner.  However,  he  made 
no  answer,  and  the  American  spoke  again. 

"I'm  glad  you  got  in  on  time.  As  I  told  Prescott, 
Merril  has  a  notion  of  going  into  the  coasting  trade, 
and  wants  our  carrying.  He  has  a  pull  on  some  of  our 
stockholders,  but  I  don't  like  the  man,  and  you'll  get 


26  THRICE    ARMED 

our  freight  as  long  as  you  can  keep  us  going.  Why 
did  you  let  the  old  man  borrow  that  money  from 
Merril?" 

"I  wasn't  here.  In  fact,  it's  only  a  few  weeks  since  I 
left  an  English  ship  at  Portsmouth." 

"Mail-boat?" 

"No,"  said  Jimmy ;  "a  warship." 

The  American  looked  at  him  hard  a  moment,  and 
then  made  a  little  gesture  with  the  hand  that  held  the 
cigar.  He  had  seen  Jimmy  Wheelock  carrying  boards  on 
his  shoulder  all  that  day,  and  now  he  was  dressed  in 
the  Canadian  wharf-hand's  jean;  but  he  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  believing  him. 

"Lieutenant  in  your  second  fighting  line?  Came 
back  to  look  after  the  old  man?"  he  said.  "Well,  I 
guess  he  needs  you.  You  want  to  keep  your  eye  on 
Merril,  too.  If  you  don't,  he'll  have  the  schooner.  It's 
a  sure  thing." 

Jimmy  realized,  without  knowing  exactly  why,  that 
he  could  give  this  man,  whom  he  had  met  only  a  few 
days  ago,  his  confidence. 

"The  same  thing  has  occurred  to  me,"  he  said.  "Do 
you  mind  telling  me  what  you  know  about  Merril?" 

"No;  it's  only  what  everybody  else  knows.  Merril's 
a  machine  for  stamping  money — out  of  anything.  Got 
a  ship-supply  store  in  Vancouver,  and  is  working  him- 
self into  the  general  carrying  business.  Lends  money 
on  vessels,  and  fits  them  out.  He'll  give  you  a  long 
credit,  at  a  blame  long  interest,  and  by  and  by  he  gets 
the  vessel,  or  a  controlling  share  in  her.  He  can't  touch 
the  express  freight  and  passenger  traffic — knows  too 
much  to  kick  against  the  C.P.R.  or  the  big  sound 


JIMMY  MAKES  FRIENDS  27 

steamers ;  but  there's  the  general  freight  for  the  mines, 
sawmills  and  canneries  up  and  down  the  coast,  and  his 
vessels  won't  cost  him  much  the  way  he  buys  them. 
The  trade's  going  to  be  a  big  one.  If  I'd  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  I'd  buy  a  steamer." 

Jimmy's  eyes  twinkled.  "A  steamboat  isn't  a  saw- 
mill. Would  you  know  how  to  run  her  ?" 

The  American  laughed.  "If  I  didn't,  I  guess  I  could 
learn.  It  can't  be  harder  than  playing  the  fiddle,  and 
I've  worried  into  that." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  then  announced  quietly 
with  the  almost  dramatic  abruptness  which  usually  char- 
acterized him:  "Anyway  we'd  make  something  of  it. 
I'd  put  you  in  command  of  her." 

"I  wonder  what  leads  you  to  believe  I  would  suit 
you?"  said  Jimmy  reflectively. 

His  companion  waved  his  cigar.  "Saw  you  packing 
lumber.  You  stayed  right  with  the  contract,  though 
you'd  never  done  the  thing  before.  Know  what  the  first 
few  days  are — I've  been  there.  Stacked  two-inch  planks 
in  Washington  when  I  was  seventeen  and  my  strength 
hadn't  quite  come  to  me,  and  went  home  at  nights  walk- 
ing double,  with  every  joint  in  my  body  aching.  Then 
they  started  me  log-wedging,  and  that's  'most  enough 
to  break  a  weak  man's  heart.  Still,  I  stayed  with  it,  and 
now  I'm  drawing  royalties  on  my  swing-frame  and 
gang-saw  patents,  and  hold  stock  in  several  mills !" 

This  was,  perhaps,  a  trifle  egotistical ;  but  then  it  was, 
or  would  have  been  in  most  other  countries,  somewhat 
of  an  achievement  for  one,  who  had  commenced  with  the 
lowest  and  most  brutal  labor,  to  make  himself  patentee, 
manager  and  stockholder,  while  still  a  very  young  man ; 


28          /4          THRICE    ARMED 

and  Jimmy  had  met  mail-boat  officers  who  gave  them- 
selves a  good  many  airs  on  the  strength  of  possessing 
a  refined  taste  in  uniform  tailoring  and  a  prepossessing 
personality.  Individually,  he  felt  it  was  more  reason- 
able to  be  satisfied  with  one's  ability  to  invent  and  run 
a  mill.  Just  then,  however,  the  door  opened,  and  an- 
other man  came  in.  He  wore  a  blue  shirt  which  fell 
open  at  the  neck  for  want  of  buttons,  and  jean  trou- 
sers which  were  very  old  and  torn,  and  there  were 
smears  of  oil  and  paint  on  his  hands. 

"I  came  to  ask  when  you  are  going  to  saw  me  those 
fir  frames,  Jordan?"  he  said. 

"Take  a  cigar!"  said  the  American,  and  turned  to 
Jimmy,  with  a  grin.  "Ever  heard  of  Thoreau  who 
lived  at  Walden  Pond?" 

Jimmy  had,  as  it  happened,  read  his  book  on  board 
one  of  the  mail-boats,  though  he  scarcely  would  have 
fancied  that  Jordan  had  done  so.  The  latter  indicated 
the  newcomer  with  a  wave  of  his  hand. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "that's  another  of  them,  though  he 
lives  in  a  yacht  and  his  name  is  Valentine.  There  are 
men — and  they're  not  all  cranks — who  seem  to  think  the 
life  most  other  people  lead  isn't  good  enough  for  them." 

Valentine,  who  looked  very  different  from  any  of  the 
yachtsmen  Jimmy  had  seen  on  the  English  coast  or 
elsewhere,  sat  down,  and  the  latter  was  a  trifle  aston- 
ished when  he  said,  "That  wasn't  why  Thoreau  went  to 
Walden.  He  was  an  abolitionist,  and  made  Walden 
a  station  for  running  niggers  into  Canada.  Anyway, 
why  does  a  man  want  to  go  into  business  and  slave  to 
pile  up  money,  when  he  can  have  the  greatest  thing  in 
nature  for  nothing  at  all?" 


JIMMY  MAKES   FRIENDS  29 

"What's  that?"  asked  Jordan.  "It's  not  the  young 
woman  one  may  take  a  fancy  to;  she  usually  costs  a 
good  deal." 

Valentine  laughed  softly,  and  looked  hard  at  Jimmy. 
"Though  you  earn  your  bread  upon  it,  I  think  you 
know.  There's  nothing  in  this  little  world  to  compare 
with  the  sea !" 

Then  he  stretched  out  his  hand  for  the  cigar-box. 
"I'll  take  two.  It's  the  brand  your  directors  use.  Saw 
those  frames  to-morrow,  or  I'll  come  round  and  raise 
the  roof  for  you.  In  the  meanwhile,  if  you'll  come 
along,  Mr.  Wheelock,  I'll  show  you  my  boat." 

Jordan  grinned  at  Jimmy.  "Better  go  along.  You'll 
have  to  see  her,  anyway." 

The  two  went  out  and  left  him,  and  as  they  paddled 
down  the  Inlet  past  the  endless  ranks  of  climbing  pines 
whose  aromatic  odors  were  heavy  in  the  dew-chilled 
air,  Valentine  glanced  at  his  companion. 

"This  world  was  made  good,  except  the  cities ;  but 
nothing  was  made  much  better  than  that  smell,"  he  said. 
"It  doesn't  put  unrest  and  longing  into  you  like  the 
smell  of  the  sea-grass  and  the  sting  of  the  powdered 
spray ;  there's  tranquillity  and  sound  sleep  in  it ;  and, 
too,  it  gives  one  comprehension." 

This  was  not  what  Jimmy  would  have  expected  from 
his  companion,  but  he  understood.  In  that  deep  rift  of 
the  ranges  where  no  wild  wind  ever  entered,  and  the  sun- 
light called  up  clean,  healing  savors  from  the  solemn 
pines,  one  could  realize  that  there  was  a  beneficent 
purpose  behind  the  scheme  of  things,  and  that  the  world 
was  good.  Still,  Jimmy  usually  kept  any  fancies  of 
that  kind  to  himself. 


SO  THRICE    ARMED 

"The  introduction  seems  familiar,"  he  said.  "I  almost 
fancy  I  have  heard  something  very  much  like  it  before." 

"It's  quite  likely;"  and  Valentine  laughed.  "It  has 
been  said  of  several  other  things,  including  tobacco." 

"You  come  here  often?" 

"Usually  to  refit.  It's  quiet  and  clean ;  and  I  like 
Jordan.  He's  a  man  with  a  mind,  and  straight,  so 
far  as  it  can  be  expected  of  any  one  in  business." 

"You  don't  follow  any?" 

Valentine  smiled  somewhat  curiously.  "I'm  a  pariah. 
I  take  toll  of  the  deer  and  halibut  instead  of  my  fellow- 
men — that  is,  except  when  I  charter  the  boat  now  and 
then.  Still,  it's  only  when  money  is  scarce  that  I 
shoot  and  fish  for  the  market.  You  see,  I'm  not  in  any 
sense  of  the  word  a  yachtsman.  I  live  at  sea  because  I 
like  it.  The  boat  makes  an  economical  home." 

Jimmy  felt  that  this  was  as  much  as  he  was  intended 
to  know,  and  he  asked  no  more  questions  until  presently 
they  slid  alongside  a  powerful  cutter  of  some  thirty 
tons,  which  lay  moored  with  an  anchor  outshore  and  a 
breast-rope  to  the  pines.  Valentine  took  him  into  the 
little  plainly  fitted  forecastle  where  he  lived,  and  aft- 
erwards led  him  through  the  ornate  saloon  and  white- 
enameled  after-cabin.  "That,"  he  said,  as  they  went 
up  the  ladder  again,  "is  for  the  charterers,  though  I'm 
by  no  means  sure  the  next  lot  will  be  pleased.  It's  a 
little  difficult  to  get  the  smell  of  halibut  out  of  her." 

"You  sail  her  alone?"  asked  Jimmy,  who  sat  down 
on  the  skylights. 

"Generally.  Wages  run  high  in  this  country.  But 
I  have  to  ship  a  man  or  two  when  any  of  the  city  people 


JIMMY  MAKES   FRIENDS  31 

charter  her.  She's  not  so  much  of  a  handful  when  you 
get  used  to  her." 

He  did  not  seem  to  expect  Jimmy  to  talk,  and  they 
sat  silent  a  while,  the  latter  smoking  thoughtfully  as 
he  looked  about  him.  It  was  growing  dark,  and  the 
lower  pines  were  wrapped  in  fleecy  mist,  out  of  which 
a  rigid  branch  rose  raggedly  here  and  there ;  but  the 
heights  of  the  range  still  cut  hard  and  sharp  against 
the  cold  blueness  of  the  evening  sky.  Westward,  a  soft 
smoky  glow  burned  faintly  behind  a  great  hill  shoul- 
der, and,  for  no  sound  reached  them  from  the  little 
settlement,  it  was  impressively  still. 

Jimmy  felt  the  vague  influence  of  the  country  creep- 
ing over  him.  It  is  a  land  of  wild  grandeur,  empty  for 
the  most  part  as  yet,  though  it  is  rich  in  coal  and  iron 
as  well  as  in  gold  and  silver,  and  its  hillsides  are  draped 
with  forests  whose  timber  would  supply  the  world.  It 
is  also,  as  he  seemed  to  feel,  for  the  bold  man,  a  land 
of  possibilities.  Enterprise,  and  even  labor,  is  worth  a 
good  deal  there;  and  Jimmy  felt  that  if  his  heart  were 
stout  enough  such  a  land  might  have  more  to  offer  him 
than  a  mate's  berth  on  a  heavily  mortgaged  schooner. 
Jordan  evidently  believed  that  one  might  achieve  af- 
fluence by  making  the  requisite  effort,  and  Jimmy  con- 
sidered himself  equally  as  capable  as  the  sawmiller. 
Still,  as  he  sat  there  in  the  dewy  stillness  breathing  the 
clean  scent  of  the  pines,  he  realized  that  there  was  also 
something  to  be  said  for  his  companion's  attitude.  He 
asked  and  strove  for  nothing,  but  was  content  to  live 
and  enjoy  what  was  so  bountifully  given  him.  Per- 
haps Valentine  guessed  where  his  thoughts  were  lead- 


32  THRICE    ARMED 

ing  him,  for  once  more  he  broke  into  his  little  soft 
laugh. 

"One  is  as  well  off  here  as  in  the  cities,"  he  said. 
"Are  you  one  of  the  hustlers  like  Jordan  yonder?" 

Though  it  was  growing  dark,  Jimmy,  disregarding 
the  question,  looked  at  him  thoughtfully.  "Do  you 
know?  Have  you  tried  the  other  thing?" 

"Oh,  yes!"  said  Valentine,  with  a  wry  smile  in  his 
eyes.  "I  have  tried  them  both,  and  that  is  one  reason 
why  I'm  here.  You  haven't  answered  me ;  though,  after 
all,  I  guess  it's  an  unnecessary  question." 

This  time  Jimmy  laughed.  "I  don't  know  that  I 
have  any  option.  It  seems  that  a  life  of  the  kind 
Jordan  leads  will  be  forced  on  me.  There  are  circum- 
stances in  which  one's  inclinations  don't  count  for 
very  much,  you  see.  Anyway,  it's  almost  time  I  turned 
in ;  I've  been  loading  lumber  since  early  morning." 

Valentine  got  into  the  dory,  and  paddled  him  to  the 
little  wharf  where  the  Tyee  was  lying. 

"Come  off  again,  and  any  time  you  see  the  boat 
along  the  coast  I'll  expect  you  on  board,"  he  said. 

Jimmy  climbed  on  board  the  schooner,  and,  descend- 
ing to  the  little  cabin,  found  his  father  lying  propped 
up  in  his  bunk.  His  eyes  were  more  watery  than  ever, 
and  when  he  spoke  his  voice  was  a  trifle  thick.  The 
light  of  the  fish-oil  lamp  projected  his  worn  face 
blackly  in  gaunt  profile  on  the  bulkhead. 

"Been  talking  to  Jordan?  He's  a  man  to  make 
friends  with,"  he  said.  "Guess  he  and  the  other  young 
ones  with  blood  and  grit  in  them  are  going  to  set  their 
mark  on  this  country.  It  mayn't  count  against  you 
if  you  leave  the  mail-boats,  Jimmy.  Manhood  stands 


JIMMY  MAKES   FRIENDS  33 

first  here,  though  my  day  has  gone.  Perhaps  I  fooled 
my  chances,  or  didn't  see  them  when  they  came.  But 
you're  going  to  be  smarter ;  you  have  red  blood  and 
brains." 

Jimmy  said  nothing.  He  had  noticed  already  that 
Tom  Wheelock  had  fallen  into  a  habit  of  inconsequent 
rambling,  and  there  were  times  when  it  pained  him  to 
listen.  The  old  man,  who  did  not  seem  to  notice  his 
silence,  went  on: 

"You  got  them  from  your  mother,  as  Eleanor  has 
done.  She  died — and  I'm  often  thankful — before  the 
bad  days  came.  Guess  it  would  break  her  heart  if  she 
could  see  her  husband  now,  a  played-out,  broken  man, 
with  a  bond  on  which  he  can't  pay  the  interest  on  his 
last  vessel.  Maybe  things  would  have  been  different  if 
she  had  lived.  I  was  never  smart  at  business — I  am  a 
sailorman — and  it  was  your  mother  who  showed  me 
how  to  build  the  fleet  up  and  save  the  money  to  buy 
each  new  boat.  When  you  went  to  sea  we  had  four  of 
them.  Now  they're  all  gone.  The  last  was  the  Fish- 
hawk,  and  she  lies  in  six  fathoms  where  she  drove  across 
the  Qualyclot  reef  with  her  starboard  bilge  ground  in." 

"Merril  doesn't  own  the  Tyee  yet,"  said  Jimmy. 

"No,"  said  Wheelock  drowsily ;  "but  unless  you  know 
enough  to  stop  him  he's  going  to.  You'll  have  nothing, 
Jimmy,  when  I'm  gone ;  but  you'll  remember  it  was 
that  man  squeezed  the  blood  out  of  me.  Anyway,  it 
won't  be  long.  I'm  played  out,  and  kind  of  tired  of 
it  all.  Couldn't  worry  through  without  your  mother. 
Never  was  smart  at  business — I  am  a  sailorman.  It 
was  she  who  made  me  boss  of  the  Wheelock  fleet,  and 
now  I  guess  she's  waiting  for  the  old  and  broken  man." 


34.  THRICE    ARMED 

His  elbow  slipped  from  under  him,  and,  falling  back, 
he  lay  inert  and  silent,  with  eyes  that  slowly  closed,  and 
his  face  showing  very  gaunt  and  unhealthily  pallid  in 
natches  under  the  fish-oil  lamp.  There  was  no  longer 
any  suggestion  of  strength  in  it,  for  dejection  had 
slackened  his  mental  grip  as  indulgence  had  sapped  the 
vigor  of  his  body.  Jimmy  Wheelock,  who  remembered 
what  his  father  had  been,  felt  a  haze  creep  across  his 
eyes  as  he  gazed  at  him,  and  then  a  sudden  thrill  of 
anger  seemed  to  fill  his  blood  with  fire.  Merril,  who 
held  a  bond  on  the  Tyee,  had,  it  seemed,  a  good  deal 
to  answer  for. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN  THE  TOIM 

IT  was  a  month  later  when  Jimmy  Wheelock  stood 
leaning  on  the  Tyee's  rail  one  morning,  while  she 
lay  alongside  a  sawmill  wharf  at  Vancouver.  The 
Siwash  deck-hand  had  left  them,  and  Jimmy,  who  had 
done  his  work,  was  very  hot  and  grimy  after  trimming 
ballast  in  the  hold.  He  and  Prescott  were  waiting  for 
another  few  loads  of  it,  and  expected  that  the  Tyee 
would  go  to  sea  shortly  after  they  got  them.  This,  how- 
ever, was  by  no  means  certain,  since  a  surveyor  had 
come  on  board  a  few  days  ago,  and  Tom  Wheelock, 
who  had  been  summoned  to  Merril's  office,  had  not  yet 
come  back. 

It  was  then  about  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  broad  Inlet 
sparkled  in  a  blaze  of  sunshine,  with  a  fresh  breeze  that 
came  off  from  the  black  pine  forests  crisping  it  into 
little  splashing  ripples.  Jimmy  was  glad  of  the  chill 
of  it  on  his  dripping  face,  and  as  grateful  for  the 
respite  from  toil  with  the  shovel,  as  he  gazed  at  the 
climbing  city.  It  rose  with  the  dark  pines  creeping 
close  up  to  it,  ridged  with  mazy  wires  and  towering 
poles,  roof  above  roof,  up  the  low  rise,  and  the  air  was 
filled  with  the  sound  of  its  activity.  A  train  of  ponder- 
ous freight-cars  rolled  clanging  along  the  wharf;  a 
great  locomotive  with  tolling  bell  was  backing  more  cars 

35 


36 

in ;  and  the  scream  of  saws  rang  stridently  through  the 
clatter  of  the  winches  as  Empress  liner  and  sound 
steamer  hove  their  cargo  in.  Jimmy  Wheelock  had,  of 
course,  gazed  upon  a  similar  scene  in  other  ports,  but 
there  was,  he  seemed  to  feel,  a  difference  here. 

In  this  new  land  the  toiler  was  not  bound  by  iron 
laws  of  caste  and  custom  forever  to  his  toil.  The  Moun- 
tain Province  was  awakening  to  a  recognition  of  its 
wealth,  and  there  was  room  in  it  and  to  spare  for  men 
with  brains  as  well  as  men  with  muscle.  There  were 
forests  to  be  cleared,  roads  to  be  built,  and  mine  adits 
to  be  driven,  and  nobody  troubled  himself  greatly  about 
the  antecedents  of  his  hired  hand.  If  the  latter  pro- 
fessed himself  able  to  do  what  was  required  of  him,  he 
was,  as  they  say  in  that  country,  given  a  show.  Jimmy 
also  knew  that  where  all  were  ready  to  attempt  the  im- 
possible, and  toiled  as,  except  in  the  New  West,  man 
has  seldom  toiled  before,  it  was  the  English  sailormen, 
runagates  from  their  vessels,  who  had  built  the  most 
perilous  railroad  trestles,  and  marched  with  the  van- 
guard when  the  treasure-seekers  pushed  their  way  into 
the  wilderness  of  rock  and  snow.  He  felt  as  he  listened 
to  the  scream  of  the  saws  and  the  tolling  of  the  loco- 
motive bells  that  amid  all  that  feverish  activity  there 
must  be  some  scope  for  him,  which  was  reassuring,  since 
it  was  becoming  "clear  that  he  would  have  to  find  some 
means  of  supporting  himself  and  his  father  before  very 
long. 

Then  he  looked  around  as  Prescott,  who  touched  his 
arm,  pointed  to  a  trim  white  cutter  which  was  sliding 
through  the  flashing  water  with  an  inclined  spire  of 
sail  above  her  and  a  swath  of  foam  at  her  lee  bow. 


IN   THE    TOILS  37 

"I  guess  that's  Valentine's  Sorata,"  he  said.  "Got 
the  biggest  topsail  on  her,  and  she  has  a  deck-plank  in. 
If  she'd  only  her  lower  canvas,  most  men  would  find  her 
quite  a  big  handful  to  sail  alone.  It's  when  he  rounds 
up  to  his  mooring  the  circus  will  begin." 

The  Sorata  came  straight  on  toward  them,  close- 
hauled  on  the  wind,  until  they  could  hear  the  hissing  of 
the  brine  that  swept  a  foot  deep  along  her  slanted  deck ; 
then  there  was  a  banging  of  canvas,  and  she  swung  as 
on  a  pivot,  while  a  bent  figure  with  its  back  against  her 
tiller  became  furiously  busy.  Slanting  sharply,  she 
drove  away  on  the  other  tack,  and  shot  in  with  canvas 
shaking  between  a  great  four-masted  ship  and  a  steamer 
with  white  tiers  of  decks.  Then  her  head-sails  dropped, 
and  she  stopped  with  a  big  iron  buoy  which  Valentine 
seized  with  his  boat-hook  close  beneath  her  bowsprit. 
After  that  there  was  a  rattle  of  chain,  and  Prescott 
made  a  gesture  of  approval. 

"Smart,"  he  said.  "I  guess  there  are  not  many  men 
in  this  Province  who  could  have  brought  her  up  in  that 
berth  without  another  hand  on  board." 

Valentine  appeared  to  see  them,  for  he  waved  his 
hand ;  but  the  next  minute  Jimmy,  who  looked  around, 
lost  his  interest  in  him,  for  Tom  Wheelock  was  coming 
slowly  across  the  wharf.  He  walked  wearily,  with  head 
bent  and  dejection  expressed  in  every  languid  move- 
ment. Prescott's  face  grew  troubled  as  he  glanced  at 
him. 

"I  guess  we're  not  going  to  sea  to-day,"  he  said. 
"Your  father  has  more  to  carry  than  he  can  stand. 
That — Merril  has  been  putting  the  screw  on  him." 


38  THRICE    ARMED 

Wheelock  dropped  somewhat  heavily  upon  the  Tyee's 
deck,  and,  though  they  looked  at  him  questioningly, 
he  said  nothing  to  either  of  them  as  he  made  his  way  to 
the  little  after-cabin.  When  he  reached  it,  he  sat  down 
and  wiped  his  forehead  before  he  poured  himself  out  a 
stiff  drink  of  whisky;  then  he  made  a  little,  hopeless 
gesture  as  he  turned  to  Jimmy,  who  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  ladder  with  Prescott  in  the  scuttle  behind  him. 

"You'll  stop  loading  that  ballast,"  he  said.  "I'm 
fixed  this  time.  I  guess  Merril  has  the  ship.  Carpen- 
ters to  come  on  board  to-morrow,  and  as  far  as  I  can 
figure,  eight  hundred  dollars  won't  see  them  clear.  Be- 
sides that,  it's  a  sure  thing  we'll  lose  the  coast  mill 
contract." 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  but  he  set  his  lips  tight,  and 
Tom  Wheelock  had  finished  his  whisky  before  he  looked 
at  him  again.  His  eyes  were  half-closed,  and  he  sat 
huddled  and  limp,  with  one  hand  trembling  on  his 
glass,  a  broken  man. 

"Carpenters  will  be  here  to-morrow.  I  guess  there's 
no  use  stopping  them — I've  got  to  see  the  thing  right 
out,"  he  said.  "Still,  you  can  tell  the  boys  we  don't 
want  that  ballast.  I  feel  kind  of  shaky,  and  I'm  going 
to  lie  down.  Not  as  strong  as  I  used  to  be,  Jimmy,  and 
I  haven't  quite  got  over  that  thump  I  got  against  the 
rail." 

Jimmy  made  a  sign  to  Prescott  and  went  up  the 
ladder,  and  when  he  stood  on  deck  the  grizzled  sailor- 
man  wondered  at  the  change  in  him.  There  was  no 
geniality  in  his  blue  eyes  now,  and  his  face  was  set  and 
grim,  for  pity  was  struggling  within  him  with  a  vin- 
dictive hatred  of  the  man  who  had  brought  his  father 


IN   THE    TOILS  39 

down.  Tom  Wheelock,  it  was  evident,  had  been  brought 
low  in  more  ways  than  one. 

"If  you'll  see  about  that  ballast,  I'll  go  straight  to 
Merril's  office.  I  want  this  thing  made  clear,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  advised  Prescott,  "I'd  walk  round  a  few 
blocks  first;  you  want  to  simmer  down  before  you  talk 
to  a  man  like  that.  Go  slow,  and  get  a  round  turn  on 
your  temper." 

Jimmy,  who  made  no  answer,  swung  himself  up  on  the 
wharf,  and  it  was  not  until  he  had  traversed  part  of  the 
water-front  that  he  remembered  it  might  have  been 
advisable  to  change  his  clothes.  He  was  still  clad  in 
blue  jean  freely  smeared  with  the  red  soil  that  he  had 
been  shoveling  in  the  hold,  and  his  face  and  hands 
were  grimy  and  damp  with  perspiration.  Still,  that 
did  not  seem  to  matter  greatly,  since,  after  all,  it  was 
a  costume  quite  in  accordance  with  his  station.  The 
days  when  he  had  worn  a  naval  uniform  had  passed. 

Striding  into  an  office  in  a  great  stone  building,  he 
accosted  a  clerk,  who  said  that  Mr.  Merril  was  busy, 
and  then  appeared  to  grow  a  tnlie  disconcerted  under 
Jimmy's  gaze.  The  latter  smiled  at  him  grimly. 

"Then  it's  probably  fortunate  that  I'm  not  busy  at 
all,"  he  said.  "In  fact,  I'm  quite  prepared  to  stay  here 
until  this  evening;  and  since  there  seems  to  be  only  one 
door  to  the  place  it  will  perhaps  save  Mr.  Merril  in- 
convenience if  he  sees  me  now.  You  can  explain  that 
to  him." 

The  clerk,  who  grinned  at  one  of  his  companions, 
disappeared,  and,  coming  back,  ushered  the  insistent 
visitor  into  a  sumptuously  furnished  office;  and,  when 
the  door  closed  behind  him,  Jimmy  was  a  little  aston- 


40  THRICE    ARMED 

ished  to  find  himself  as  collected  as  he  had  ever  been 
in  his  life.  He  was  one  of  the  men  who  do  not  quite 
realize  their  own  capabilities  until  driven  by  necessity 
into  strenuous  action.  An  elderly  gentleman  with  a 
pallid  and  somewhat  expressionless  face,  dressed  with 
a  precision  not  altogether  usual  in  that  country,  looked 
up  at  him. 

"Well?"  he  said  inquiringly. 

Jimmy  drew  forward  a  chair,  and  sat  down  unin- 
vited. "You  know  my  name,"  he  said.  "I  want  to  un- 
derstand exactly  why  you  are  sending  those  carpenters 
on  board  the  schooner?" 

Merril  looked  at  him  gravely,  but  Jimmy  did  not 
appear  to  find  his  gaze  in  any  way  troublesome. 

"I  don't  think  you  have  anything  to  do  with  the  mat- 
ter," he  said.  "Still,  out  of  courtesy " 

"No,"  interrupted  Jimmy ;  "I'm  not  asking  a  favor, 
only  anticipating  things  a  little.  It  is,  I  am  afraid, 
quite  likely  that  I  shall  have  to  take  over  the  schooner 
before  very  long." 

"Then,  in  accordance  with  a  clause  in  the  agreement, 
the  vessel  must  be  kept  in  efficient  repair  to  the  satis- 
faction of  a  qualified  surveyor.  The  man  I  sent  down 
reports  that  she  needs  a  new  mast,  decks  relaid,  and  a 
good  deal  of  new  planking  about  her  water-line.  Your 
father  has  particulars." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Jimmy  very  quietly,  "there  would 
be  nothing  gained  by  asking  you  to  allow  the  repairs  to 
stand  over  until  we  have  brought  down  one  or  two  more 
loads  of  lumber.  I  expect  you  know  it  will  cost  us  the 
sawmill  contract  if  we  lay  the  schooner  off  now?" 

Merril  made  a  little  gesture.     "I'm  afraid  not.     I 


IN   THE    TOILS  41 

can't  afford  to  take  the  risk  of  having  the  schooner 
lost,  to  oblige  you,  and  the  fact  that  you  may  not  carry 
out  the  sawmill  contract  naturally  does  not  concern 
me." 

"Has  it  occurred  to  you  that  we  might  question  your 
surveyor's  report?  Half  the  repairs  are  quite  unneces- 
sary, as  you  no  doubt  know.  Why  the  man  recom- 
mended them  is,  of  course,  a  question  I'm  not  going 
into,  though  it  wouldn't  be  very  difficult  to  hit  on  the 
reason.  There  are,  however,  other  men  of  his  profes- 
sion in  this  city." 

Again  Merril  looked  at  him  steadily,  with  a  faint, 
sardonic  gleam,  which  was  more  galling  than  anger,  in 
his  eyes.  "You  will,  of  course,  do  what  you  consider 
advisable,  but  if  the  repairs  are  not  made  I  shall  apply 
for  an  injunction  to  stop  you  from  going  to  sea;  and 
the  law  is  somewhat  costly.  The  redemption  instalment 
and  interest  are  overdue,  and  if  your  father  has  any 
money  with  him,  one  would  fancy  it  would  be  more  pru- 
dent for  him  to  settle  his  obligations  than  to  give  it  to 
the  lawyers." 

Jimmy  realized  that  this  was  incontrovertible.  Un- 
less the  arrears  were  paid  within  a  fixed  time,  Merril 
could  foreclose  on  the  vessel  and  sell  her  to  somebody 
acting  in  concert  with  him,  which  was,  no  doubt,  what 
he  wished  to  do.  There  was,  it  seemed,  no  wriggling 
out  of  his  grip ;  and,  though  he  felt  it  would  be  useless, 
Jimmy  resolved  to  appeal  to  his  sense  of  fairness. 

"So  far  as  I  can  figure,  you  have  been  paid  in  in- 
terest and  charges  about  forty  cents  on  every  dollar 
you  lent ;  and  you  still  hold  a  bond  for  the  original 
amount,"  he  said.  "That  would  be  enough  to  satisfy 


42  THRICE    ARMED 

most  men ;  and  all  we  ask  is  a  little  time  and  considera- 
tion. You  could  let  those  repairs  stand  over,  and  could 
wait  a  while  for  your  interest.  It  will  most  certainly 
be  paid  if  we  can  keep  hold  of  the  sawmill  contract." 

"I'm  afraid  you  are  wasting  time;"  and  Merril 
glanced  at  the  papers  before  him.  "There  are  several 
reasons  which  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  insist  on 
your  father's  carrying  out  the  conditions  of  his  bond. 
He  owes  me  a  good  deal  of  money  now." 

A  hard  glint  crept  into  Jimmy's  blue  eyes,  and  there 
was  a  trace  of  hoarseness  in  his  voice.  "I  want  you  to 
understand  that  it  will  crush  him,"  he  said.  "He  is  an 
old  and  broken  man,  and  you  would  lose  nothing  by  a 
little  clemency.  I  will  take  every  dollar  of  his  debts 
upon  myself." 

"I'm  sorry,  but  it  can't  be  helped,"  said  Merril,  with  a 
shrug  of  his  shoulders  which  seemed  to  suggest  that  his 
patience  was  becoming  exhausted.  "The  conditions 
laid  down  must  be  carried  out." 

Jimmy  rose  slowly.  Every  nerve  in  him  tingled, 
though  there  was  only  the  ominous  scintillation  in  his 
eyes  to  indicate  what  he  was  feeling.  Laying  one  hand 
on  Merril's  desk,  he  looked  down  at  him,  and  they  faced 
each  other  so  for,  perhaps,  half  a  minute.  The  man 
who  held  in  his  grasp  many  a  small  industry  in  that 
Province  shrank  inwardly  beneath  the  sailor's  gaze. 

"Then,"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  slow  forcefulness  that 
was  the  more  impressive  because  of  the  restraint  he 
put  upon  himself,  "you  shall  have  your  money,  and 
everything  else  that  is  due  you.  If  I  live  long  enough — 
all — my  father's  debt  will  certainly  be  paid." 

He  went  out;  and  Merril,  to  whom  an  interview  of 


IN   THE    TOILS  43 

this  description  was  not  exactly  a  novelty,  was  for  once 
a  little  uneasy  in  his  mind.  There  was  a  certain  sug- 
gestion of  steadfastness  in  the  seafarer's  manner  that 
he  did  not  like,  and  he  felt  that  he  could  be  relied  on 
to  keep  his  promise  if  the  opportunity  were  afforded 
him.  Still,  the  bondholder  fancied  it  would  not  be  in- 
superably difficult  to  contrive  that  the  occasion  did  not 
arise. 

Next  day  the  carpenters  duly  arrived  on  board  the 
Tyee,  and  when  they  took  possession  there  was  nothing 
for  any  one  else  to  do,  which  was  partly  why  it  hap- 
pened that  Jimmy  sat  smoking  on  the  skylights  of  the 
Sorata's  saloon  one  hot  afternoon.  He  had  told  Valen- 
tine, who  lay  near  him  on  the  warm  deck,  part  of  his 
troubles.  There  was  scarcely  a  breath  of  air,  and  the 
smoke  of  the  big  mills  hung  in  a  long  trail  above  the 
oily  Inlet  and  floated  in  a  filmy  cloud  athwart  the  tow- 
ering pines.  The  tapping  of  the  carpenters'  mallets  on 
board  the  Tyee  came  faintly  across  the  water. 
.  "It  will  be  three  weeks,  anyway,  before  you  get  your 
new  deck  in,  and  it  may  be  longer,"  said  Valentine. 
"All  the  carpenters  on  this  coast  are  going  up  to  the 
new  railroad  trestles,  where  they're  getting  almost  any 
price  they  ask.  What  are  you  going  to  do  in  the  mean- 
while?" 

Jimmy  said  he  did  not  know,  and  was  sorry  this  was 
the  case.  He  had  discovered  that  board  costs  a  good 
deal  in  that  country,  and  while  the  Tyee  was  practically 
gutted  it  would  be  necessary  to  live  ashore.  Valentine 
appeared  to  ruminate,  and  then  looked  up  at  him. 

"Well,"  he  said  reflectively,  "I'm  going  up  the  coast, 
and  I  want  an  experienced  skipper.  That's  easy,  be- 


44 

cause  I  know  too  much  about  charterers  to  let  them 
have  my  boat  without  taking  me.  Yachting's  just  be- 
coming popular  here.  Next,  there's  to  be  a  capable 
cook,  and  that  could  be  contrived,  because,  although 
Louis  is  about  the  worst  cook  I  know,  they  needn't  find 
it  out  until  we're  well  away  to  sea.  The  third  man  is  the 
difficulty.  He's  to  be  warranted  sober,  reliable,  and 
intelligent,  since  he  may  be  required  to  take  the  young 
ladies  out  fishing  in  the  dory.  All  to  be  civil  and  clean, 
and  provided  with  suitable  uniform.  It's  in  the  charter. 
They  appear  to  be  particular  people." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "Evidently.  Still,  I  don't  quite  see 
what  it  all  has  to  do  with  me,  since  I'm  not  going. 
Where's  the  man  you  had  when  you  took  the  last 
party?" 

"On  the  wharf;  he'll  never  come  back  again  with 
me.  He  was  a  blue-water  man,  and  one  day  he  broke 
loose  and  got  at  the  charterers'  whisky.  Tried  to  kiss 
one  of  the  young  ladies  as  he  was  carrying  her  on  board 
the  dory,  and,  though  I  threw  him  in  afterward,  her 
father  made  considerable  unpleasantness  over  the 
thing." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  looked  at  Jimmy  with  a 
whimsical  twinkle  in  his  eyes.  "Now,  I  don't  know  any 
reason  why  you  shouldn't  come  if  you  feel  like  it.  You 
seem  reasonably  sober,  and  I  guess  you  could  be  civil. 
Charterers  aren't  quite  so  trying  here  as  one  would 
fancy  they  are  in  the  Old  Country.  I've  been  there; 
but  on  the  Pacific  Slope  we  haven't  yet  branded  the 
people  who  work  as  quite  outside  the  pale.  You  could 
put  on  the  steamboat  jacket,  and  I've  an  old  man-o'- 
war  cap  with  gold  letters  on  it.  The  man  who  left  it 


IN    THE    TOILS  45 

on  board  the  Sorata  privately  discharged  himself  from 
one  of  the  Pacific  squadron.  It  was  a  dark  night,  and 
he  was  almost  drowned  when  I  got  him.  Well,  it  would 
bring  you  twelve  dollars  a  week,  all  found — it's  what 
I'd  have  to  pay  another  man — besides  being  a  favor 
to  me." 

Jimmy  laughed  outright.  He  had  his  cares  just  then, 
but  he  was,  after  all,  a  young  man  of  somewhat  whimsi- 
cal temperament,  and  the  prospect  of  the  adventure 
appealed  to  him.  The  twelve  dollars  a  week  were  more 
attractive  still,  since  he  had  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  small  sum  he  had  brought  with  him  to  Vancouver 
would  be  badly  wanted  before  very  long,  and  while  the 
Tyee  lay  idle  he  could  not  trench  upon  his  father's 
scanty  store. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "it  sounds  a  crazy  kind  of  thing,  but 
that  is,  perhaps,  why  it  attracts  me.  I'll  come." 

Valentine  smiled.  "Then  you'll  come  off  early  to- 
morrow, and  try  to  remember  you're  a  blue-water  man 
who  has  hired  out  to  me.  You  want  to  get  yourself 
up  kind  of  smartly.  We'll  go  below  and  see  what  I've 
got.  It's  in  the  charter." 

Half  an  hour  later  Jimmy  was  rowed  ashore,  and 
he  walked  back  to  the  wharf  where  the  Tyee  was  lying 
with,  for  the  first  time  during  several  weeks,  a  smile 
in  his  eyes.  It  would  be  a  relief  to  forget  his  troubles 
for  a  week  or  two,  and  his  father  would  not  need  him 
in  the  meanwhile.  Naturally  he  did  not  know  that  the 
crazy  venture  on  which  he  had  embarked  was  to  have 
somewhat  important  results  for  him  as  well  as  for 
other  people. 


CHAPTER  V 

VALENTINE'S  PAID  HAND 

IT  was  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  Jimmy 
stood  on  the  Vancouver  wharf  beside  an  express 
wagon,  from  which  the  teamster  had  just  flung 
down  what  appeared  to  him  an  inordinate  quantity  of 
baggage.  He  was  then  attired  in  a  steamboat  officer's 
jacket,  from  which  he  had  removed  a  row  of  buttons  as 
well  as  the  braid  on  the  cuffs,  an  old  pair  of  Valentine's 
white  duck  trousers  carefully  mended  with  sail-sewing 
twine,  a  pair  of  canvas  shoes  with  a  burst  in  one  of 
them,  and  a  somewhat  dilapidated  man-o'-war  cap.  In 
this  get-up  he  expected  to  pass  muster  as  a  professional 
yacht-hand,  though  as  yet  there  were  very  few  men 
who  followed  that  calling  in  Vancouver  or  Victoria. 
Had  he  been  brought  up  in  England  he  might  have 
felt  a  little  more  uncomfortable  than  he  did,  but  the 
average  Westerner  is  troubled  by  no  false  pride,  and 
is  usually  willing  to  earn  the  money  he  requires  by  any 
means  available.  Still,  Jimmy  was  not  altogether  at 
ease,  for  he  had,  at  least  to  some  extent,  become  endued 
with  his  comrades'  notions  during  the  time  he  had  spent 
in  the  mail-boats  and  the  English  warship. 

A  little  farther  up  the  wharf  Valentine  was  talking  to 
ft  gray-haired  gentleman  whose  immaculate  blue  serge, 

46 


VALENTINE'S  PAID  HAND  47 

level  voice,  and  formal  attitude  seemed  to  stamp  him  as 
different  from  the  men  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  who  have  as 
a  rule  no  time  to  waste  in  considering  appearances. 
Two  young  ladies  stood  not  very  far  away,  and,  though 
the  breeze  was  no  more  than  pleasantly  cool,  one  of 
them  was  wrapped  in  a  long  cloak  and  shawl.  Jimmy 
could  not  see  the  other  very  well  because  of  the  wagon, 
but  when  she  moved  across  the  wharf  her  lithe  step  and 
graceful  carriage  at  least  suggested  vigorous  health. 

By  and  by  the  rattle  of  a  neighboring  steamer's  winch 
ceased  suddenly,  and  he  heard  the  voice  of  the  elderly 
gentleman,  who  had  been  glancing  in  his  direction. 

"I  suppose  that  is  your  man,"  he  said,  with  a  clear 
English  intonation.  "Couldn't  you  have  got  him  up  a 
little  more  smartly  ?  That  man-o'-war  cap,  for  instance, 
is  a  little  out  of  keeping  with  the  rest  of  his  things." 

Jimmy  saw  Valentine's  badly  suppressed  smile,  and 
caught  his  answer.  "He  was  in  one  of  the  warships, 
sir,  and  is  a  reliable  man.  I  can  warrant  him  civil  and 
sober." 

"Well,"  said  the  other,  "we  may  as  well  go  off  while 
he  brings  down  the  baggage." 

The  party  moved  toward  the  Soratd's  dory,  and 
Jimmy  was  not  exactly  pleased  when  he  found  himself 
left  to  carry  their  baggage,  which  appeared  to  be  un- 
usually heavy,  down  a  flight  of  awkward  steps.  It  was 
not  very  long  since  he  had  stood  beside  a  mail-boat's 
hatch,  and  merely  raised  a  hand  now  and  then  while  her 
deck-hands  stowed  the  baggage  under  his  direction ;  but 
he  found  something  faintly  humorous  in  the  situation 
until,  hampered  by  an  awkward  load,  he  lost  his  balance 
and  fell  down  the  steps.  Still,  he  contrived  to  deposit 


48  THRICE    ARMED 

the  charterers'  possessions  at  the  water's  edge,  and  when 
Valentine  came  back  he  packed  them  into  the  dory,  and 
about  fifteen  minutes  later  staggered  into  the  little 
white  ladies'  cabin  on  board  the  Sorata  with  a  big  trunk 
in  his  arms.  One  of  the  girls  was  busy  unstrapping  a 
valise,  but  the  other  looked  around  as  he  came  in. 

"Put  it  there !"  she  said,  with  a  swift  glance  at  him, 
and  then,  though  he  noticed  that  apparently  she  had 
something  in  her  hand,  she  seemed  to  change  her  mind 
and  turned  around  again. 

Jimmy  went  out  backwards,  with  a  faint  warmth  in 
his  face,  and  when  he  had  brought  in  the  rest  of  the 
baggage  he  went  up  and  assisted  Louis,  their  third 
hand,  to  break  out  the  anchor  and  get  the  Sorata  under 
way.  She  was  sliding  out  through  the  Narrows  when 
he  dropped  through  the  scuttle  into  the  forecastle,  and 
found  Valentine  filling  a  tray. 

"It's  part  of  your  business  to  carry  the  baggage," 
he  said.  "You  want  to  remember  they're  particular 
people,  and  you're  expected  to  make  yourself  generally 
useful  and  agreeable.  Still,  I  guess  there's  no  need 
to  talk  as  you  would  in  a  mail-boat's  saloon." 

Jimmy  took  the  tray,  but,  as  it  happened,  the  Sorata 
lurched  on  the  wash  from  a  passing  steamer  as  he  went 
through  the  sliding  door  in  the  bulk-head,  and,  plunging 
into  the  saloon  with  arms  stretched  out,  he  fell  against 
the  table.  It  was  a  moment  or  two  before  he  partly  re- 
covered his  equanimity,  and  then,  as  he  looked  about 
him,  a  hoarse  laugh  fell  through  the  open  skylights. 
To  make  things  worse,  he  fancied  that  the  elderly  gen- 
tleman cast  a  suspicious  glance  at  him,  while  he  was 
quite  sure  that  there  was  a  twinkle  in  one  of  the  young 


VALENTINE'S   PAID   HAND  49 

ladies'  eyes.  She  leaned  back  somewhat  wearily  upon  a 
locker  cushion,  and  her  face  was  thin  and  fragile;  but 
her  companion  sat  upright,  and  Jimmy  saw  that  she 
also  was  regarding  him.  She  was  tall  and  somewhat 
large  of  frame,  with  a  quiet  face  that  had  something 
patrician  in  it,  and  reposeful  brown  eyes.  Jimmy  fan- 
cied that  she  and  the  others  must  have  heard  the  laugh 
above. 

"It's  only  that  idiot  Louis,  sir,"  he  said.  "It's  a 
habit  he  has.  You'll  hear  him  laugh  to  himself  now  and 
then  when  he's  at  the  helm." 

Then  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  was  speaking  more 
familiarly  than  an  Englishman  would  probably  expect 
a  yacht-hand  to  do,  and,  pulling  himself  up  abruptly, 
he  commenced  to  lay  out  the  table  and  pour  the  coffee. 

"You  take  sugar,  miss?"  he  asked. 

"She  does,"  said  the  man  dryly.  "When  a  spoon  is 
not  available  she  prefers  her  own  fingers." 

The  delicate  girl  laughed  a  little,  and  Jimmy  felt  his 
face  grow  warm,  for  he  was  conscious  that  her  com- 
panion was  watching  him  with  quiet  amusement ;  but  he 
contrived  to  find  the  spoons  he  had  forgotten,  and  when 
he  was  about  to  withdraw  the  girl  with  the  brown  eyes 
made  a  little  sign. 

"I  suppose  we  are  at  liberty  to  read  any  of  those 
books?"  she  asked,  pointing  to  the  hanging  shelves. 
"They  are  the  skipper's?" 

Jimmy  knew  what  she  was  thinking,  because  the 
works  in  question  were  by  no  means  of  the  kind  one 
would  have  expected  a  professional  yacht-hirer  to  own 
or  to  appreciate.  He  also  knew  that  the  forecastle  slide 
was  open,  and  that  Valentine  was  probably  listening. 


50  THRICE    ARMED 

"Of  course,  miss,"  he  said ;  "take  any  of  them,  if  you 
can  understand  them.  I  think  it's  more  than  the  skipper 
does.  Still,  he  has  a  little  education,  and  bought  them 
cheap  at  book  sales.  They  give  a  kind  of  tone  to  the 
boat." 

"I  see,"  said  the  girl  with  the  reposeful  eyes,  and 
Jimmy  backed  out  in  haste.  He  fancied  a  little  ripple 
of  musical  laughter  broke  out  after  he  had  closed  the 
forecastle  slide.  Then  he  glanced  deprecatingly  at 
Valentine,  who  did  not  appear  by  any  means  pleased 
with  him. 

"I  didn't  expect  too  much  from  you,  but  the  last 
piece  of  gratuitous  foolery  might  have  been  left  out," 
he  said.  "Did  you  ever  come  across  a  yacht  steward 
who  took  passengers  into  his  confidence  in  the  casual 
way  you  do  ?" 

"No,"  said  Jimmy  candidly,  "I  don't  think  I  ever  did. 
Now,  I  don't  in  the  least  know  what  came  over  me,  but 
I  can't  remember  ever  losing  my  head  in  quite  the  same 
way  before.  It  must  have  been  the  way  the  girl  with 
the  brown  eyes  looked  at  me.  In  fact,  she  seemed  to  be 
looking  right  through  me.  Who  is  she  ?" 

"Miss  Merril." 

"Ah !"  said  Jimmy,  a  trifle  sharply.  "Still,  it  doesn't 
seem  to  be  an  unusual  name  in  this  country,  and,  after 
all,  one  couldn't  hold  her  responsible  for  her  father's 
doings — if  she  is  the  one  I  mean.  It's  quite  possible 
they  wouldn't  please  her  if  she  were  acquainted  with 
them.  In  fact,  it's  distinctly  probable." 

"I  wonder  why  you  seem  so  sure  of  that  ?  She  is  the 
one  you  mean." 


VALENTINE'S  PAID   HAND  51 

"From  her  face.  You  couldn't  expect  a  girl  with  a 
face  like  that  to  approve  of  anything  that  was  not " 

He  saw  Valentine's  smile,  and  broke  off  abruptly. 
"Anyway,  it  doesn't  matter  in  the  least  to  either  of  us. 
What  is  she  doing  here,  and  who  are  the  others?" 

Valentine  laughed.  "I  don't  think  I  suggested  that 
it  did.  The  man  is  Austerly,  of  the  Crown-land  offices, 
and  English,  as  you  can  see — one  of  the  men  with  a 
family  pull  on  somebody  in  authority  in  the  Old  Coun- 
try. I  believe  he  was  a  yacht-club  commodore  at  home. 
The  delicate  girl's  his  daughter.  Not  enough  blood  in 
her — phthisis,  too,  I  think — and  it's  quite  likely  she  has 
been  recommended  a  trip  at  sea.  Miss  Merril  is,  I 
understand,  a  friend  of  hers,  and  she  evidently  knows 
something  of  yachting  too." 

"What  do  you  know  about  phthisis?" 

A  shadow  suddenly  crept  into  Valentine's  brown  face. 
"Well,"  he  said  quietly,  "as  it  happens,  I  do  know  a 
little  too  much." 

Jimmy  asked  no  more  questions,  but  got  his  supper, 
and  contrived  to  keep  out  of  the  passengers'  way  until 
about  ten  o'clock  that  night,  when  he  sat  at  the  helm  as 
the  Sorata  fled  westward  before  a  fresh  breeze.  To 
port,  and  very  high  above  her,  a  cold  white  line  of 
snow  gleamed  ethereally  under  the  full  moon.  A  long 
roll  tipped  by  flashing  froth  came  up  behind  her,  and 
she  swung  over  it  with  the  foam  boiling  at  her  bows  and 
her  boom  well  off,  rolling  so  that  her  topsail  which  cut 
black  against  the  moonlight  swung  wildly  athwart  the 
softly  luminous  blue. 

Jimmy  was  watching  a  long  sea  sweep  by  and  break 
into  a  ridge  of  gleaming  froth,  when  Miss  Merril  came 


52  THRICE    ARMED 

out  from  the  little  companion  and  stood  close  beside 
him  with  the  silvery  light  upon  her.  She  had  a  soft 
wrap  of  some  kind  about  her  head  and  shoulders,  and, 
though  he  could  not  at  first  see  her  face,  the  way  the 
fleecy  fabric  hung  emphasized  her  shapely  figure. 

"I  wonder  whether  you  would  let  me  steer?"  she 
asked. 

For  a  moment  or  two  Jimmy  hesitated.  The  Sorata 
was  carrying  a  good  deal  of  sail,  and  running  rather 
wildly,  while  he  knew  that  a  very  small  blunder  at  the 
tiller  would  bring  her  big  main-boom  crashing  over,  the 
result  of  which  might  be  disaster.  Still,  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  girl's  manner  which,  for  no  reason  that  he 
could  think  of,  impressed  him  with  confidence.  He  felt 
that  she  would  not  have  asked  him  for  the  helm  merely 
out  of  caprice,  or  unless  she  could  steer. 

"Well,"  he  said,  remembering  he  was  supposed  to  be 
a  yacht-hand,  "we  will  see  what  kind  of  a  show  you 
make  at  it,  miss.  Take  hold,  and  try  to  keep  her  bow- 
sprit on  the  island.  It's  the  little  black  smear  in  the 
moonlight  yonder." 

The  girl  apparently  had  no  difficulty  in  doing  it, 
though  for  a  while  he  crouched  upon  the  side-deck  with 
a  brown  hand  close  beside  the  ones  she  laid  on  the 
tiller.  Then  as,  feeling  reassured,  he  relaxed  his  grasp, 
she  appeared  to  indicate  her  hands  with  a  glance. 

"They  are  really  stronger  than  you  seem  to  think," 
she  said,  "and  I  have  sailed  a  yacht  before." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "I  only  thought  they  were  very 
pretty." 

The  girl  looked  around  at  him  a  moment,  without 
indignation,  but  with  a  grave  inquiry  in  her  eyes  which 


VALENTINE'S   PAID  HAND  53 

Jimmy,  who  suddenly  remembered  the  role  he  was  ex- 
pected to  play,  found  curiously  disconcerting. 

"What  made  you  say  that?"  she  asked. 

"I  really  don't  know;"  and  Jimmy  had  sense  enough 
not  to  make  matters  worse  by  admitting  that  he  had  said 
anything  unusual.  "It  seemed  to  come  to  me  naturally. 
Perhaps  it  was  because  they — are — pretty." 

This  time  Miss  Merril  laughed.  "Well,"  she  said,  "I 
should  just  as  soon  they  were  capable.  But  don't  you 
think  she  would  steer  easier  with  the  sheet  slacked  off 
a  foot  or  two?" 

Jimmy  had  thought  so  already,  but  while  he  let  the 
sheet  run  around  a  cleat  he  asked  himself  whether  this 
was  intended  as  a  tactful  reminder  that  he  was  merely 
expected  to  do  what  was  necessary  on  board  the  vessel. 
On  the  whole  he  did  not  think  it  was.  One  has,  after 
all,  a  certain  license  at  sea ;  and  though  he  had  natural- 
ly met  young  ladies  on  board  the  mail-boats  who  appar- 
ently found  pleasure  in  treating  every  man  not  exactly 
of  their  own  station  with  frigid  discourtesy,  he  fancied 
that  Miss  Merril  differed  from  them.  However,  he  sat 
silent  and  out  of  the  way  upon  the  Sorata's  counter, 
until  presently  a  lordly,  four-masted  ship  swept  up  out 
of  the  soft  blueness  of  the  night. 

She  crossed  the  Sorata's  bows,  braced  up  on  the  wind, 
and,  for  she  carried  American  cotton  sailcloth,  she 
gleamed  majestically  white,  with  four  great  spires  of 
slanted  canvas  tapering  from  the  great  arch  of  her 
courses  to  the  little  royals  that  swayed  high  up  athwart 
the  blue  above  a  long  line  of  dusky  hull.  It  was  hove 
up  on  the  side  nearest  the  Sorata,  and  the  sea  frothed 
white  beneath  her  bows,  which  piled  it  high  in  a  filmy, 


54.  THRICE    ARMED 

flashing  cloud.  Miss  Merril  could  hear  the  roar  of 
parted  water,  and,  as  the  great  vessel  drove  by,  the 
refrain  of  a  sighing  chantey  that  fell  amidst  a  sharp 
clanking  from  the  black  figures  on  her  spray-drenched 
forecastle. 

,  "Ah!"  she  said,  "that  is  a  picture  to  remember.  I 
wonder  what  those  men  have  undergone,  and  where  they 
come  from?" 

Jimmy  smiled,  presuming  that  she  was  addressing 
him,  though  he  could  not  be  sure  of  it. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "I  should  fancy  they  have  borne 
'most  everything  that  a  man  could  be  expected  to  face, 
except  want  of  food,  while  they  thrashed  her  round 
the  Horn.  She's  American,  and,  if  they  drive  men  hard 
on  board  their  ships,  they  at  least  usually  feed  them 
well." 

"You  know  what  they  have  done?" 

Jimmy  laughed,  and  forgot  his  man-o'-war  cap  as  he 
saw  that  she  was  interested.  "I  believe  I  do.  They've 
crawled  out  on  those  long  topsail  yards  probably  once 
every  watch  by  night  and  day,  clawing  at  thundering 
folds  of  hard,  drenched  canvas,  while  the  ship  lay  with 
her  rail  in  the  water  when  the  Cape  Horn  squalls  came 
down  thick  with  blinding  snow.  Then  they've  crawled 
down  with  bleeding  hands  and  broken  nails,  and  flung 
themselves,  in  their  dripping  oilskins,  into  a  soddened 
bunk  to  snatch  a  couple  of  hours'  sleep  before  they  were 
roused  to  get  sail  on  her  again.  They  have  lived  for 
days  on  cold  provisions  soaked  in  brine  when  the  galley 
fire  was  drowned  out,  and  it  is  very  likely  have  not 
stripped  a  long  boot  off  for  a  week.  She  carries  a  high 


55 

rail,  but  the  icy  sea  that  chilled  them  to  the  bone  has 
poured  across  it  at  every  roll." 

"Ah !"  said  the  girl ;  "going  west  it  would  be  to  wind- 
ward. In  one  way  it's  almost  an  epic.  I  suppose  it's 
always  more  or  less  like  that?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy;  "one  of  the  epics  nobody  has 
ever  written,  perhaps  because  nobody  really  could. 
There  are  a  good  many  of  them.  As  you  say,  when 
one  has  to  fight  to  windward,  things  generally  happen 
more  or  less  that  way." 

Miss  Merril  turned  and  looked  at  him  as  he  sat  on 
the  Soratd's  counter  in  the  navy  cap,  and  a  smile  crept 
into  her  eyes. 

"Still,"  she  said,  "perhaps  it  is,  after  all,  worth  while 
to  face  them." 

They  both  remembered  that  afterward,  but  in  the 
meanwhile  it  did  not  strike  Jimmy  as  in  any  way 
incongruous  that  she  should  talk  to  him  in  such  a 
fashion  or  credit  him  with  more  comprehension  than 
one  would  expect  from  a  professional  yacht-hand. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  said  simply.  "One's  heart  is  apt 
to  fail  when  one  looks  forward  and  sees  only  the  snow- 
squalls  to  drive  one  back  to  leeward,  and  the  steep  head 
seas." 

Then  he  stood  up  suddenly  with  a  little  laugh  as 
Louis  came  slouching  aft  from  the  forecastle  scuttle. 

"I'm  relieved,  and  I  had  better  see  whether  they  want 
anything  in  the  saloon,"  he  said. 

It  appeared  that  they  wanted  nothing,  and  when  he 
crawled  into  the  forecastle  Valentine  looked  at  him  with 
evident  curiosity. 

"You  had  apparently  a  good  deal  to  say  to  Miss 


50  THRICE    ARMED 

Merril,"  he  observed.  "Might  one  ask  what  you  found 
to  talk  about?" 

"The  last  topic  was  whether  it  is  worth  while  to 
hang  on  and  fight  one's  way  to  windward  when  the  out- 
look is  black.  If  I  understood  her  correctly,  she  seems 
to  believe  it  is." 

Valentine  grinned  sardonically.  "Did  you  discuss  it 
like  a  German  philosopher,  or  as  a  forecastle  hand?  I 
suppose  it  never  struck  you  that  it's  rather  an  un- 
usual subject  for  a  yachting  roustabout  to  go  into  with 
a  young  lady  passenger?" 

"It  is,"  agreed  Jimmy,  making  a  little  deprecatory 
gesture.  "I'm  afraid  I  didn't  remember  that  before; 
but  it  probably  doesn't  matter,  since  it's  hardly  likely 
that  she  did  either." 

His  comrade  looked  at  him,  and  shook  his  head. 
"You  can  believe  that — at  your  age?"  he  said.  "My 
dear  man,  a  young  woman  of  Miss  Merril's  intelligence 
would  notice  anything  that  wasn't  quite  in  character 
the  moment  you  said  it.  Still,  that  is  your  affair.  It's 
the  other  one  I'm  worrying  about." 

"The  other  one?" 

"Miss  Austerly.  The  girl's  very  sick — probably 
worse  than  her  father  realizes — and  it's  rather  on  my 
conscience  that  I  told  them  that  Louis  could  cook. 
Anyway,  if  this  breeze  holds  we'll  bring  up  off  Victoria 
early  to-morrow,  and  though  we're  not  going  in,  I'll  slip 
ashore  before  breakfast  and  see  what  one  can  pick  up 
at  the  stores." 

Jimmy  asked  him  no  more  questions,  but  crept  into 
his  bunk.  About  nine  o'clock  on  the  morrow,  when  the 
Sorata  was  lying  in  a  bight  on  the  south  coast  of  Van- 


VALENTINE'S   PAID   HAND  57 

couver  Island,  he  was  aroused  by  the  dory  bumping 
alongside,  and  he  went  out  on  deck.  It  was  then  raining 
hard,  and  all  he  could  see  was  a  stretch  of  gray  sea  and 
a  strip  of  dripping  boulder  beach  on  which  a  little  white 
surf  was  breaking.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  water  in 
the  dory,  and  Valentine's  oilskins  were  dripping  when 
he  climbed  out  of  her  with  several  packages  under  his 
arm.  Stores  open  early  in  that  country. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "you  can  bail  her  out,  and  come  down 
in  half  an  hour  when  I've  fixed  up  a  breakfast  that 
any  one  could  eat," 

Jimmy  did  so,  but  it  was  with  some  little  diffidence 
that  he  carried  the  tray  into  the  saloon.  It  occurred  to 
him  that  Miss  Merril  might  regret  that  she  had  unbent 
so  far  the  previous  night,  and  he  wondered  uneasily 
whether  he  had  ventured  further  than  was  advisable. 
He  was  also  conscious  for  the  first  time  that  the  re- 
pairs Valentine  had  made  in  his  garments  were  less  ar- 
tistic than  evident.  The  girl,  however,  looked  up  with 
a  smile,  which  might  have  meant  anything,  and 
afterward  confined  her  attention  to  the  articles  he  was 
laying  on  the  table.  There  were  Chinese  preserved  dain- 
ties and  fruit  from  California,  as  well  as  the  ordinary 
fare. 

"An  unusually  good  breakfast,"  said  Austerly. 
"Does  your  skipper  always  treat  his  charterers  so 
well?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Jimmy.  "That  is,  when  he  can.  You 
see,  he  couldn't  get  these  things  in  Vancouver;  there 
isn't  the  same  demand  for  them  as  there  is  in  the 
capital." 

Austerly  did  not  appear  altogether  satisfied  with  the 


58  THRICE    ARMED 

ingenious  explanation,  but  he  said  nothing  furtfier. 
Indeed,  he  was  not  a  man  who  said  very  much  on  any 
occasion;  and  while  he  commenced  his  breakfast  Miss 
Merril  looked  at  Jimmy  with  her  little  disconcerting 
smile.  Still,  there  was  no  malice  in  it. 

She  was  as  fresh  that  morning  as  when  she  came  off 
the  previous  evening,  though  both  Austerly  and  his 
daughter  appeared  a  trifle  the  worse  for  the  night's  run. 
Miss  Merril  was  wholly  unostentatious  in  speech  or 
bearing,  and  there  was  a  certain  gracious  tranquillity 
about  her  which  suggested  latent  vigor  instead  of 
languidness.  She  was  then,  he  decided  tolerably  cor- 
rectly, in  her  twenty-fifth  year,  brown-haired  and 
brown-eyed,  with  broad,  low  forehead,  unusually 
straight  brows,  and,  in  spite  of  her  smile,  a  curiously 
steady  gaze.  Her  face  was  a  full  oval,  her  mouth  by 
no  means  small,  and,  while  he  had  seen  women  of  a 
somewhat  similar  type  whose  vigor  was  tinged  with 
coarseness  or  a  hint  of  sensuality,  there  was  about  this 
girl  a  certain  daintiness  of  thought  and  speech,  and  a 
quiet  dignity.  What  she  said  was,  however,  sufficiently 
prosaic. 

"I  presume  that  means  he  went  to  Victoria  for 
the  extra  stores  this  morning ;  but  how  did  he  get  there? 
It  must  be  some  distance,  from  what  I  know  of  the 
coast,  and  he  would  have  a  head-wind  all  the  way  back." 

"He  walked,"  said  Jimmy.  "It's  necessary  for  him. 
One  doesn't  get  very  much  exercise  of  that  kind  at  sea. 
In  fact,  he  walks  miles  whenever  he  can." 

Miss  Austerly  appeared  a  trifle  astonished,  and  her 
father  looked  up  from  his  coffee. 

"It's  a  trifle  difficult  to  understand  how  he  manages 


VALENTINE'S   PAID  HAND  59 

it,"  he  said.  "One  would  consider  the  Sorata  forty  feet 
long." 

Jimmy  felt  Miss  Merril's  gaze  upon  him,  and,  as  had 
happened  before,  his  ingenuity  failed  him.  Her  smile 
vaguely  suggested  comprehension,  and,  for  no  ostensible 
reason,  that  disturbed  him.  He  also  saw  Louis  grinning 
down  at  him  through  the  skylights. 

"Sugar,  sir?'*  he  said;  and  this  was  so  evidently  an 
inspiration  that  Miss  Austerly  laughed,  and  when  her 
father  said  that  he  had  been  offered  it  twice  already, 
Jimmy  went  out  with  all  the  haste  available.  He  closed 
the  forecastle  slide  somewhat  noisily,  and  then  sat  down 
and  frowned  at  Valentine. 

"Well?"  said  the  latter  dryly.  "Been  making  an  ex- 
hibition of  yourself  again?" 

"I'm  afraid  I  have,"  said  Jimmy.  "If  it  happens 
another  time  you  can  carry  the  things  in  yourself  and 
see  how  nice  it  is.  Still,  I  don't  quite  know  why  I  lost 
my  head.  I  have  naturally  met  quite  a  few  young 
ladies  in  my  time.  I  suppose  it's  wearing  that  con- 
founded cap  and  these  more  confounded  clothes." 

He  kicked  one  foot  out,  and  disgustedly  contemplated 
a  burst  white  shoe,  while  the  duck  trousers  cracked. 
Valentine  leaned  back  against  the  bulkhead  and  laughed. 

"Don't  be  rash,  or  they'll  split ;  and  the  jacket's  open- 
ing at  a  seam,"  he  said.  "It's  rather  a  pity  a  man 
can't  rise  above  his  clothes.  Anyway,  you  may  as  well 
give  Louis  a  hand  to  get  the  mainsail  on  to  her.  As 
soon  as  they've  finished  breakfast  we'll  break  out  the 
anchor." 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  VISION  OF   THE   SEA 

THERE  was  rain  and  thick  weather  for  several 
days,  during  which  the  Sorata  crept  northward 
slowly  along  the  wild  West  Vancouver  coast. 
Austerly,  it  appeared,  had  business  with  an  Indian  agent 
who  lived  up  an  inlet  near  which  the  restless  white  pros- 
pectors were  encroaching  on  a  Siwash  reserve.  The 
boat  was  wet  and  clammy  everywhere,  though  a  bark 
fire  burned  in  the  little  saloon  stove.  Miss  Austerly  lay 
for  the  most  part  silent  on  the  leeward  settee  with  a  cer- 
tain wistful  patience  in  her  hollow  face  which  roused 
Jimmy's  compassion.  He  noticed  that  Valentine's  voice 
was  gentler  than  usual  when  he  mentioned  her,  and  won- 
dered why  it  was  so,  though  his  comrade  did  not  favor 
him  with  an  adequate  explanation  then  or  afterward. 

At  last  one  afternoon  the  drizzle  ceased,  and,  during 
most  of  it,  Miss  Merril  sat  at  the  tiller  with  Jimmy's 
oilskin  jacket  round  her  shoulders  to  shield  her  from  the 
spray,  while  the  Sorata  drove  northward,  close-hauled, 
across  the  long  gray  roll  of  the  Pacific  which  was  tipped 
with  livid  foam.  Sometimes  she  swung  over  it,  with 
dripping  jib  hove  high,  but  at  least  as  often  she  dipped 
her  bows  in  the  creaming  froth  and  flung  the  brine  aft 

60 


A   VISION   OF   THE    SEA  61 

in  showers,  while  all  the  time  the  half-seen  shore  un- 
rolled itself  to  starboard  in  a  majestic  panorama. 

Great  surf -lapped  rocks  rose  out  of  the  grayness,  and 
were  lost  in  it  again ;  forests  athwart  which  the  vapors 
streamed  in  smoky  wisps  rolled  by ;  and  at  times  there 
were  brief  entrancing  visions  of  a  towering  range, 
phantoms  of  mountains  that  vanished  and  appeared 
again.  There  was  water  on  the  lee-deck ;  showers  of  it 
drove  into  the  drenched  mainsail's  luff;  but  still  Miss 
Merril  sat  at  the  tiller  with  her  damp  hair  blown  about 
her  forehead,  a  patch  of  carmine  in  her  cheeks,  and  a 
gleam  in  her  eyes.  She  seemed,  as  she  swung  with  the 
plunging  fabric  when  the  counter  rose  streaming  high 
above  the  froth  that  swept  astern,  wholly  in  harmony 
with  the  motive  of  the  scene;  and  at  this  Jimmy  won- 
dered a  little  now  and  then,  though  he  discovered  aft- 
erward that  Anthea  Merril  almost  invariably  fitted  her- 
self to  her  surroundings.  There  are  men  and  women 
with  that  capacity,  which  is,  perhaps,  born  of  compre- 
hension and  sympathy. 

Her  grasp  was  firm  and  steady  on  the  straining  helm, 
her  gaze  quick  to  notice  each  gray  comber  that  broke 
as  it  came  down  on  them;  but,  when  he  looked  at  her, 
Jimmy  saw  in  her  eyes  something  deeper  than  the  thrill 
of  the  encounter  with  the  winds  of  heaven  and  the  rest- 
less sea.  He  could  find  no  fitting  name  for  it.  It  elud- 
ed definition,  but  it  had  its  effect;  and  he  felt  that  a 
man  might  go  far  and  do  more  than  thrash  a  yacht  to 
windward  with  such  a  companion,  though  he  also  re- 
alized that  this  was,  after  all,  no  concern  of  his.  Apart 
from  that,  her  quiet  courage  and  readiness  were  notice- 
able, though  it  was,  perhaps,  her  understanding  that 


62  THRICE    ARMED 

appealed  most  to  him.  Anthea  Merril  never  asked  an 
unnecessary  question.  She  seemed  able  to  grasp  one's 
thoughts  and  motives  in  a  fashion  that  set  those  with 
whom  she  conversed  at  their  ease,  and  when  in  her  com- 
pany Jimmy  usually  forgot  his  yacht-hand's  garments 
and  the  man-o'-war  cap. 

It  was  toward  sunset  that  evening,  and  Miss  Austerly 
was  sitting  well  wrapped  up  on  a  locker  in  the  cockpit, 
when  the  vapor  melted  and  was  blown  away,  as  not  in- 
frequently happens  about  that  time  at  sea.  The  dingy 
clouds  that  veiled  the  sky  were  rent,  and  a  blaze  of 
weird,  coppery  radiance  smote  the  tumbling  seas,  which 
changed  under  it  to  smears  of  incandescent  whiteness 
with  ruddy  gleams  in  them,  and  ridges  of  flashing 
green.  It  was  sudden  and  bewildering,  impelling  one 
to  hold  one's  breath.  But  a  more  glorious  pageant 
leaped  out  of  the  dimness  over  the  starboard  hand. 
Walls  of  rock  that  burned  with  many  colors  sprang  into 
being,  with  somber  pines  streaming  upward  behind  them, 
and  far  aloft  there  were  lifted  gleaming  heights  of 
never-trodden  snow  whose  stainless  purity  was  intensi- 
fied by  their  gray  and  turquoise  shadows. 

The  vision  was  vouchsafed  them,  steeped  in  an  im- 
material splendor,  for  perhaps  five  minutes,  and  then  it 
faded  as  though  it  had  never  been.  Miss  Austerly, 
who  had  gazed  at  it  rapt  and  eager-eyed,  drew  in  her 
breath. 

"Ah !"  she  said ;  "if  it  was  only  to  see  that,  I  am  glad 
I  came — it  may  be  the  last  time." 

Jimmy,  who  was  sitting  on  the  skylights,  saw  the 
apprehension  in  Anthea  Merril's  eyes  as  she  glanced 
down  for  a  moment  into  the  fragile  face  of  her  com- 


A   VISION    OF   THE    SEA  63 

panion,  and  he  fancied  that  Valentine  did  so  too;  but 
the  girl  smiled  wistfully. 

"Still,"  she  said,  "it  is  a  good  deal  to  have  seen  the 
glory  of  this  world,  and  one  would  almost  fancy  that 
other  one — where  the  sea  is  glassy — could  not  be  much 
more  beautiful." 

There  was  a  hint  of  reproach  in  Anthea  Merril's 
quiet  voice,  which  reached  Jimmy. 

"Nellie,"  she  said,  "you  have  morbid  fancies  now  and 
then.  We  brought  you  on  this  trip  to  make  you  cheer- 
ful and  strong." 

The  sick  girl  smiled  again,  and  the  pallor  of  her 
fragile  face  intensified  the  faint  shining  of  her  eyes. 
"I  think  you  know  that  I  shall  never  get  strong  again, 
and,  after  all,  why  should  I  wish  to  stay  here  when  I 
may  leave  my  pains  and  weaknesses  behind  me?  You 
can't  understand  that.  You  have  the  vigor  of  the  sea 
in  you — and  the  world  before  you." 

It  apparently  occurred  to  Valentine  that  he  was 
hearing  too  much,  for  he  stood  up,  swaying  while  the 
Sorata  plunged,  and  called  to  Austerly  through  one  of 
the  open  skylights  of  the  saloon. 

"We'll  have  the  breeze  down  on  us  twice  as  hard  in  a 
few  minutes,  sir,  and  there's  an  inlet  we  could  lie  snug 
in  not  far  astern,"  he  said.  "It's  quite  likely  we  might 
come  across  a  Siwash  or  two  who  would  pole  you  up 
the  river  at  the  head  of  the  inlet  to  within  easy  reach  of 
the  agent's  place,  to-morrow." 

"Very  well !"  said  Austerly ;  "you  can  run  her  away." 

It  appeared  advisable,  for  the  Sorata  buried  her  bows 
in  a  smother  of  frothing  brine  and  dipped  her  lee-deck 


64  THRICE    ARMED 

deep,  as  a  blast  swept  down.  Valentine  glanced  at 
Miss  Merril  somewhat  dubiously. 

"Do  you  think  you  could  jibe  her  all  standing?"  he 
asked. 

Jimmy  almost  expected  Anthea  Merril  to  say  that 
she  could  not,  for,  unless  the  helmsman  is  skilful,  when  a 
cutter-rigged  craft  is  brought  round,  stern  to  a  fresh 
breeze,  her  great  mainsail  with  the  ponderous  boom 
along  the  foot  of  it  is  apt  to  swing  over  with  disastrous 
violence.  There  was,  however,  no  hesitation  in  the  girl's 
face,  and  Valentine  made  a  little  gesture  that  implied 
rather  more  than  resignation. 

"When  you're  ready !"  he  said.    "Stand  by,  Jimmy !" 

They  laid  hands  on  the  hard,  wet  sheet,  and,  while 
the  girl  swayed  with  the  helm,  and  the  Sorata  came 
round,  stern  to  sea,  dragged  the  big  mainboom  in  foot 
by  foot  until  it  hung  over  them,  lifting,  with  the  great 
bellying  sail  ready  to  swing.  Then,  though  nobody 
knew  quite  how  it  happened,  Jimmy  got  a  loose  turn  of 
the  rope  about  his  arm  as  a  sea  washed  in  across  the 
counter.  In  another  second  or  two  the  boom  would 
swing  over,  and  it  seemed  very  probable  that  his  arm 
would  at  least  be  broken.  While  the  tightening  hemp 
ground  into  his  flesh,  he  saw  the  color  ebb  in  Valentine's 
face,  and  then  the  girl's  voice  reached  him  sharp  and 
insistent. 

"Now !"  was  all  she  said. 

The  Soratd's  bows  swung  a  trifle  further,  and  no 
more.  The  boom  went  up  with  a  jerk,  and,  while  the 
blood  started  from  Jimmy's  compressed  arm,  came  down 
again.  For  a  second  the  turn  of  rope  slackened,  and 
he  shook  it  clear.  Then  the  sheet  whirred  through  the 


A   VISION    OF   THE    SEA  65 

quarter-blocks  as  the  great  sail  swung  over,  and  the 
Sorata  rolled  until  one  side  of  her  was  deep  in  the  foam. 
She  shook  herself  out  of  it,  and  Jimmy,  who  forgot 
the  man-o'-war  cap  and  what  he  was  supposed  to  be, 
saw  the  girl's  eyes  fixed  on  him  with  a  faint  smile  in 
them,  and  made  her  a  little  inclination.  He  felt  that  she 
was  asking  him  a  question. 

"Thank  you !"  he  said  simply.  "I  don't  think  I  was 
unduly  frightened.  I  seemed  to  know  you  would  not 
fail  me." 

Anthea  Merril  made  no  answer,  but  a  slight  flush 
crept  into  her  cheek.  She  was  very  human,  and  it  was 
in  one  sense  an  eloquent  compliment.  Then  Jimmy 
went  forward  to  haul  the  staysail  down,  though  he 
found  he  had  to  do  it  with  one  hand,  and  he  was  kept 
busy  until  he  went  down  with  Valentine  into  the  little 
forecastle,  when  the  Sorata  lay  snug  in  a  strip  of 
still  green  water  close  beneath  the  dusky  pines.  Louis 
had  just  gone  ashore  with  the  dory  to  gather  bark  for 
fuel,  and,  for  the  scuttle  was  open,  they  could  hear  the 
splash  of  his  oars  through  the  deep  stillness  that  was 
emphasized  by  the  murmur  of  falling  water.  Valentine 
sat  on  a  locker  with  the  lamplight  on  his  bronzed  face, 
which  was  a  trifle  grave. 

"Rain  again,  and  I'd  sooner  lose  my  next  charter  than 
have  bad  weather  now,"  he  said. 

"Why?"  asked  Jimmy. 

His  comrade  made  a  sign  of  impatience.  "Didn't 
you  hear  what  that  girl  said — it  was  the  last  time? 
She  knew  that  she  was  right,  too,  though  it's  probably 
only  natural  that  her  father  wouldn't  believe  it.  A  last 


66  THRICE   ARMED 

treat  she's  getting — and  she's  as  fond  of  the  sea  as  I 
am,  or  you  are  either." 

Jimmy  did  not  know  why  he  smiled,  but  perhaps  it 
was  because  he  was  stirred  a  little  and  did  not  wish  to 
show  it.  In  any  case,  Valentine  frowned  at  him. 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "I  know.  It's  a  dog's  life,  and 
other  things;  but  you  wouldn't  quit  it,  anyway,  and 
that's  not  the  question.  Can't  you  understand  what 
that  sickly  girl's  life  has  been,  with  all  that  other 
women  might  expect  to  have  denied  her  ?" 

There  was  a  certain  hoarse  insistence  in  Valentine's 
inquiry,  from  which  it  seemed  to  Jimmy,  who  had 
noticed  the  solicitude  with  which  he  had  endeavored 
to  minister  in  every  way  to  the  comfort  or  pleasure  of 
their  delicate  passenger,  that  his  companion  had  some 
special  reason  for  understanding  what  the  girl's  lot  had 
been. 

"Well,"  he  said  reflectively,  "one  would  suppose  that 
to  be  born  foredoomed  is  hard  upon  such  as  Miss 
Austerly." 

Valentine  made  a  little  abrupt  gesture.  "It's  evident 
they  once  had  a  yacht  of  their  own.  Any  one  could  see 
how  fond  of  it  she  is ;  and  I'm  taking  her  father's  money 
— he  hasn't  too  much  of  it — like  a — moneylender  that 
she  may  have  a  last  taste  of  the  one  thing  she  can  take 
pleasure  in.  Lord,  when  one  has  so  much  for  noth- 
ing, what  selfish  hogs  we  are!" 

"It. can't  be  helped,  anyway.  You  couldn't  offer  a 
favor  to  a  man  like  Austerly." 

"No;"  and  Valentine  frowned.  "He's  a  man  with 
all  the  condemned  prejudices  of  his  class,  and  he  would, 
naturally,  sooner  see  his  daughter's  one  wish  ungrati- 


A  VISION   OF   THE   SEA  67 

fied.  After  all,  women  now  and  then  rate  the  value  of 
things  more  justly  than  we  do.  There's  Miss  Merril 
who  came  with  them,  and  somehow  it  was  she  who 
brought  this  trip  about.  She  has  her  pride,  full  meas- 
ure of  it,  but  she  has  sense  as  well,  sense  of  proportion, 
and  if  we  had  only  her  to  deal  with  we'd  let  every  other 
charter  slide  and  go  south  to-morrow  to  find  the  sum- 
mer." 

Jimmy  was  not  in  the  least  astonished.  He  had,  of 
course,  listened  to  a  certain  amount  of  forecastle 
ribaldry,  though,  after  all,  conversation  and  badinage 
of  that  nature  is,  at  least,  as  frequent  in  a  mail-boat's 
smoking-room;  but  he  knew  the  ways  of  his  fellows, 
and  it  seemed  a  very  natural  thing  to  him  that  Valen- 
tine the  pariah  should  in  his  own  fashion  reveal  these 
depths  of  chivalrous  compassion.  He  had  seen  hard- 
handed  men  of  coarse  fiber  do  many  a  gentle  deed  with 
a  curse  on  their  lips  that  was  probably  worth  a  good 
deal  more  than  a  conventional  platitude.  Still,  it  would 
have  been  wholly  extraordinary  if  he  had  mentioned 
anything  of  this. 

"One  would  fancy  Miss  Merril  has  a  good  deal  of 
character,"  he  said. 

"Too  much  for  the  man  she  marries,  if  there's  any- 
thing small  and  mean  in  him.  That's  a  girl  with  a 
capacity  for  doing  more  than  sail  a  boat  to  windward 
well,  and  she  will  probably  expect  a  good  deal.  In  one 
way  there's  something  humorous  in  the  fact  that  her 
father  is  one  of  the  — est  rogues  in  this  Province, 
though  there  are  naturally  a  good  many  people  who 
look  up  to  him.  Of  course,  she  isn't  aware  of  it  yet. 
Brought  up  back  East,  I  believe,  and  somebody  told 


68  THRICE    ARMED 

me  she  had  lived  a  good  deal  with  her  mother's  people. 
It  probably  means  trouble  for  her  when  she  understands 
the  reality." 

He  rose  with  a  little  shrug  of  his  shoulders.  "I'm 
talking  like  an  old  woman,  and  these  things  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  us.  We  have  our  wet  watches  to  keep  at 
sea,  and  perhaps  we  are  better  off  than  the  rest  of  them 
because  that  is  all.  You  can  turn  in  if  you  want  to; 
I'll  wait  for  Louis." 

Five  minutes  later  Jimmy  crawled  into  his  bunk,  and 
fell  fast  asleep.  When  he  awakened,  he  found  that  the 
day  had  broken  still  and  sunny.  There  was  a  Siwash 
rancherie  a  mile  or  two  up  the  Inlet,  and  when  an  Indian 
had  been  found  who  would  carry  a  message  through  the 
forest,  Austerly,  who  never  forgot  what  was  due  to  a 
Crown-land  official,  decided  to  stay  where  he  was  and 
allow  the  agent  to  visit  him.  He  was  not  in  any  way 
an  active  man,  and  appeared  quite  content  to  sit  in 
the  cockpit  reading,  when  Valentine,  who  had  procured 
a  Siwash  river  canoe — a  long,  light  shell  of  cedar  with 
some  two  feet  beam — offered  to  take  his  daughter  up 
the  Inlet  to  see  the  rancherie.  Miss  Austerly  was 
pleased  to  go  with  him,  and  Anthea  Merril,  who  watched 
the  knife-edge  craft  slide  away,  turned  to  Jimmy. 

"If  you  will  get  the  trolling-spoon  I  will  go  fishing," 
she  said. 

"Yes,  miss,"  said  Jimmy,  touching  his  cap — a  thing 
that  is  very  seldom  done  in  Western  Canada.  Hauling 
the  dory  alongside,  he  handed  her  into  it.  Then  he 
dipped  the  oars,  and  they  slid  slowly  up  the  Inlet  with 
the  silver  and  vermilion  spoon  trailing  astern.  He  had 
laid  Valentine's  shot-gun  across  the  thwarts, 


A   VISION   OF   THE   SEA  69 

The  lane  of  clear  green  water  was,  perhaps,  two 
hundred  yards  wide,  and  the  stately  pines  which  shroud 
all  that  lonely  coast  rose  in  somber  ranks  on  either  side, 
distilling  their  drowsy  fragrance  as  their  motionless 
needles  dried  in  the  sun.  There  was  not  a  sound  when 
the  splash  of  Valentine's  paddle  died  away,  and  Jimmy 
dipped  his  oars  leisurely,  now  and  then  venturing  a 
glance  at  his  companion.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the 
big  white  hat  she  wore  became  her  wonderfully  well, 
and  it  is  possible  that  she  guessed  as  much  and  did  not 
resent  it,  for  Jimmy  was,  after  all,  a  personable  man. 

"Your  skipper  is  very  good  to  Nellie  Austerly,"  she 
said.  "I  am  rather  pleased  with  him  because  of  it. 
There  are,  naturally,  not  many  things  in  which  she  can 
take  any  great  interest." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Jimmy  reflectively,  "there  are  peo- 
ple who  would  consider  it  good  of  him,  but,  in  one  way, 
it  really  isn't.  It  doesn't  cost  him  anything,  and  he 
can't  help  it.  That  man  would  do  what  he  could  for 
anybody  who  didn't  want  to  take  advantage  of  him. 
What's  more,  he  would  do  it  almost  without  realizing 
what  he  was  about." 

"Do  you  know  why  he  lives  as  he  does  at  sea?" 

"I  don't.    Probably  because  he  likes  it." 

Anthea  Merril  smiled.  "Is  that  all?  It  has  not  oc- 
curred to  you  that  there  is,  perhaps,  a  reason  why  he 
and  Nellie  Austerly  understand  each  other?" 

"Both  fond  of  the  sea?" 

"That  mightn't  go  far  enough.  Nellie  has  had  to 
give  up  so  much,  or  rather  it  has  been  taken  away  from 
her.  You  can  understand  that?" 

Jimmy  nodded  assent.     It  had  already  occurred  to 


70  THRICE    ARMED 

him  that  his  comrade  was  a  man  who  had  lost  some- 
thing he  greatly  valued,  and  it  did  not  appear  incon- 
gruous that  Miss  Merril  should  be  speaking  in  this 
familiar  fashion  to  him.  In  fact,  she  frequently  con- 
trived to  make  him  forget  that  he  was  Valentine's  hired 
hand  and  wore  the  man-o'-war  cap. 

"What  would  a  boat  like  the  Sorata  cost  to  build?" 
she  asked. 

"Perhaps  four  thousand  dollars  in  this  country." 

"Ah!"  said  the  girl;  "and  with  that  sum  one  could 
probably  set  up  a  store,  buy  one  of  the  little  sawmills 
near  a  rising  settlement,  or  start  on  one  of  the  other 
paths  that  are  supposed  to  lead  to  affluence." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "Supposing  he  owned  the  big 
Hastings  mill,  what  more  could  it  offer  a  man  with  his 
views?  As  he  will  tell  you,  he  gets  what  he  likes  al- 
most for  nothing.  He  may  be  right,  too.  After  all, 
it  is  clean  dirt  one  has  to  eat  at  sea." 

"There  are  not  many  men  who  could  live  as  he  does ; 
the  rest  would  go  to  pieces.  And  isn't  it  rather  shirking 
a  responsibility?" 

"You  mean  that  one  ought  to  make  money?" 

"I  think  one  ought  to  take  one's  part  in  the  struggle 
that  is  going  to  make  this  the  greatest  Province  in  the 
Dominion ;  but  not  exactly  for  that  reason."  Then  Miss 
Merril  apparently  decided  to  change  the  subject.  "You 
had  a  good  halibut  season?" 

Jimmy  saw  the  twinkle  in  her  eyes,  and  understood 
it.  "I  hadn't.  I'm  afraid  I  wouldn't  know  a  halibut 
when  I  saw  it.  There  are,  one  believes,  plenty  of  them, 
but  so  far  very  few  people  go  fishing." 


A   VISION    OF   THE    SEA  71 

"Then  you  were  probably  killing  the  Americans' 
seals?" 

"I  wasn't.  I  am,  I  may  mention,  mate  on  board  a 
lumber-carrying  schooner." 

His  companion's  nod  might  have  meant  anything. 
"I  fancied,"  she  said,  "you  had  not  gone  to  sea  very 
often  as  a  yacht-hand." 

Jimmy,  who  was  uncertain  what  she  wished  him  to 
understand,  pulled  on  leisurely,  until,  as  they  crept 
along  the  shore,  a  widening  ripple  that  spread  from 
beyond  a  point  caught  his  eye,  and,  laying  down  the 
oars,  he  reached  for  the  gun. 

"I  was  told  to  bring  back  a  duck  for  Miss  Austerly 
if  I  could,"  he  said.  "You  don't  mind?" 

Anthea  Merril  made  a  sign  of  indifference,  and  the 
dory  slid  on,  until,  as  they  opened  up  a  little  bay,  Jimmy 
flung  up  the  gun,  for  a  slowly  moving  object  swam  in 
the  midst  of  it.  Then  he  felt  a  hand  on  his  arm,  and  a 
voice  said  sharply,  "Put  it  down!" 

Jimmy  did  so  before  he  saw  the  reason,  and  it  was  a 
moment  later  when  he  noticed  a  string  of  little  fluffy 
bodies  stretched  out  from  the  shore.  The  mother  bird 
paddled  toward  them,  and,  disregarding  her  own  dan- 
ger, strove  to  drive  them  back  among  the  boulders. 
Then  he  saw  the  curious  gleam  that  was  half  anger 
and  half  compassion  in  his  companion's  eyes,  and  felt 
his  face  grow  a  trifle  hot. 

"I  didn't  know,"  he  said.  "It  must  be  an  unusually 
late  brood.  I  never  noticed  them.  I  shouldn't  like  you 
to  think  I  did." 

"Open  the  gun,  and  take  out  the  cartridges !"  ordered 
his  companion. 


72  THRICE    ARMED 

"Very  well,  miss,"  said  Jimmy,  who  could  not  resist 
the  impulse  of  adding,  with  a  whimsical  twinkle  in  his 
eyes:  "Shall  I  take  off  the  trolling-spoon?" 

Anthea  Merril  laughed.  "No,"  she  said.  "Still,  I 
can't  complain  of  the  suggestion.  Head  out  from  shore, 
and  row  faster." 

Jimmy  said  nothing  further,  but  busied  himself  with 
his  oars.  He  had  discovered  by  this  time  that  he  could 
talk  more  or  less  confidentially  with  Anthea  Merril  only 
when  it  was  her  pleasure  that  he  should  do  so,  and  she 
was  able  to  make  it  clear  when  that  time  had  gone.  Still, 
he  did  not  for  a  moment  believe  she  would  have  been 
more  gracious  had  her  companion  not  happened  to  be 
the  S  or  at  a' s  paid  hand. 


CHAPTER  VII 

BLOWN   OFF 

THE  evening  was  cool  and  clear.     Anthea  Merril 
and  Jimmy  followed  an  Indian  path  that  wound 
through  the  primeval  bush.     On  the  one  hand 
a  great,  smooth-scarped  wall  of  rock  ran  up  far  above 
the  trees  that  clung  about  its  feet  into  the  wondrous 
green  transparency,  but  the  light  was  dying  out  down 
in  the  hollow  where  towering  fir  and  cedar  clustered. 
They  were  great  of  girth  and  very  old,  and  beneath 
them  there  was  silence  and  solemnity. 

Jimmy,  who  carried  his  companion's  sketching  ma- 
terials, went  first  to  clear  the  dew-wet  fern  away,  and 
the  girl  walked  behind  him  silently;  but  this  was  not 
because  there  had  been  any  change  in  her  attitude  to- 
ward him.  Indeed,  a  certain  camaraderie  had  grown 
up  between  them  during  the  few  days  they  had  spent 
fishing  and  wandering  in  the  bush,  and  there  was,  after 
all,  nothing  astonishing  in  this,  for  Jimmy  was  guilty 
of  no  presumption,  and  social  distinctions,  which  are, 
indeed,  not  very  marked  in  that  country,  do  not  count 
for  much  in  the  wilderness.  Still,  that  camaraderie  had 
been  a  revelation  to  him,  and  he  was  uneasily  aware  that 
during  the  rest  of  his  life  he  would  look  back  upon  the 

78 


74  THRICE    ARMED 

time  when  he  had  been  Miss  Merril's   guide  and  at- 
tendant. 

They  had  been  up  the  bank  of  a  river  that  afternoon, 
and  the  girl,  who  had  spent  an  hour  or  two  sketching  a 
peak  of  the  range,  had  remained  behind  with  Jimmy 
when  the  rest  had  retraced  their  steps  to  the  Inlet  lest 
Miss  Austerly  should  suffer  from  the  chill  of  the  dew. 
The  two  were  accordingly  coming  back  alone,  which, 
indeed,  had  happened  several  times  before.  It  was 
Anthea  who  spoke  at  last. 

"It  will  be  dark  very  soon,  and  it  might  have  been 
wiser  if  we  had  gone  back  the  way  the  others  did," 
she  said.  "Still,  this  trail  looked  nearer.  I  suppose 
it  must  come  out  at  the  Inlet?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Jimmy.  "I  can  hear  the  river, 
though  it  doesn't  seem  to  be  quite  where  I  expected. 
The  others  will  be  on  the  beach  by  now." 

"I  shouldn't  like  to  keep  Nellie  there,"  said  Anthea. 
"Still,  I  scarcely  think  they  would  wait  long." 

"Of  course  not,"  said  Jimmy.  "Tom  is  as  careful 
of  her  as  if  she  were  his  sister,  and  they  wouldn't  worry 
about  our  not  turning  up  to  go  off  with  them.  They're 
probably  getting  used  to  it  by  this  time." 

He  realized  next  moment  that  this  was,  perhaps,  not 
a  particularly  tactful  observation ;  but  he  could  not  see 
his  companion's  face,  and,  as  had  happened  before,  he 
had  sense  enough  not  to  make  things  worse  by  any 
attempt  to  explain  it,  which  Anthea  Merril,  who  recog- 
nized that  he  had  spoken  unreflectively,  of  course, 
noticed.  What  she  thought  of  him — and  she  had, 
naturally,  formed  certain  opinions — did  not  appear 
until  some  time  later. 


BLOWN   OFF  75 

In  a  few  minutes  he  stopped  abruptly  where  the  trail 
wound  round  a  screen  of  salmon-berry,  for  a  creek 
came  splashing  down  across  their  way.  It  appeared 
to  be  at  least  two  feet  deep,  and  when  his  companion 
saw  it  she  turned  to  him  with  a  little  exclamation. 

"Oh!"  she  said,  "how  are  we  going  to  get  across? 
We  certainly  can't  go  back." 

"I'm  afraid  not;"  and  Jimmy  glanced  dubiously  at 
the  sliding  water.  "It  will  be  dark  in  half  an  hour,  and 
this  bush  is  bad  enough  to  get  through  in  the  day- 
light. I'll  go  in  anyway,  and  see  how  deep  it  is." 

He  plodded  through  rather  above  his  knees  in  water, 
which  was  mostly  freshly  melted  snow,  and  then  turned 
and  looked  at  the  girl  as  she  stood  regarding  him  some- 
what curiously  from  the  opposite  bank.  The  light  had 
not  quite  gone  yet,  and  he  could  see  her  standing,  tall 
and  supple  and  shapely,  with  her  white  serge  skirt 
gathered  in  one  hand,  and  a  patch  of  crimson  wine- 
berries  at  her  feet.  The  great  brown-and-gray  trunk 
of  a  redwood  behind  her  forced  up  the  fine  outline  of 
her  figure,  and  made  a  fitting  background  for  the  deli- 
cate coloring  of  the  face  that  was  turned  toward  him. 
Then,  as  had  happened  once  or  twice  before,  a  little 
thrill  ran  through  the  man,  and  he  glanced  down  at  the 
sliding  water. 

"You  can't  wade  through,  and  there's  no  use  trying 
to  look  for  a  spot  where  it's  not  running  quite  so  fast. 
I  don't  think  a  Siwash  could  get  through  this  bush," 
he  said. 

He  stopped  somewhat  abruptly,  and  was  glad  that 
the  girl  met  his  glance  without  wavering,  as  she  said, 
"Well?" 


76  THRICE    ARMED 

Jimmy's  tone  was  deprecatory.  "There's  only  one 
way,  Miss  Merril.  I  must  carry  you  over." 

Anthea  laughed,  though  it  cost  her  a  slight  effort. 
She  was,  at  least,  glad  that  he  had  addressed  her  uncon- 
cernedly, and  as  a  yacht-hand  would.  She  was  also 
quite  aware  that  young  ladies  who  go  rowing  in  small 
dories,  or  venture  into  the  wilderness,  have  to  submit  to 
being  carried  occasionally ;  but,  for  all  that,  she  would 
sooner  the  suggestion  had  been  made  by  another  man. 

"Do  you  really  think  you  could?"  she  asked. 

Jimmy's  eyes  twinkled,  which  was  more  reassuring 
than  any  sign  of  embarrassment. 

"Well,"  he  said  reflectively,  and  again  she  was  pleased 
that  he  was  very  matter-of-fact,  and  had  sense  enough 
to  drop  back  into  his  role,  "I  guess  I'm  used  to  carry- 
ing three-inch  redwood  planks." 

He  came  splashing  through  the  water,  though  he  did 
not  look  at  her,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  she  felt  his  arms 
about  her.  She  wondered  vaguely  whether  he  had  often 
carried  any  one  else,  for  it  was,  at  least,  evident  that 
he  knew  exactly  what  he  meant  to  do,  and  she  recog- 
nized the  strength  the  sea  had  given  him,  as  he  stepped 
down  easily  into  the  creek,  holding  her  high  above  the 
water,  with  the  loose  folds  of  her  skirt  wrapped  about 
her.  Anthea  was  reasonably  substantial,  as  she  was, 
of  course,  aware;  but,  though  he  twice  floundered  a 
little  in  the  depths  of  a  pool,  he  set  her  down  safe  on 
the  other  side  and  stood  before  her  with  flushed  fore- 
head, which  was,  as  she  promptly  realized,  in  one  re- 
spect a  mistake.  He  said  nothing,  and  did  not,  indeed, 
look  at  her;  but  as  he  drew  in  a  deep  breath  from  the 
physical  effort  she  glanced  at  him,  and  saw  something 


BLOWN   OFF  77 

in  his  face  that  suggested  restraint.  That  spoiled 
everything. 

"It  is  getting  late,"  she  said  quietly.  "Doesn't  the 
path  go  on  again?" 

They  turned  away,  Jimmy  walking  first,  for  which 
she  was  thankful,  because  the  moment  or  two  when  they 
had  stood  silent  had  been  more  than  enough.  There 
was  nothing  for  which  she  could  blame  the  man.  His 
demeanor  had  been  everything  that  one  could  have  ex- 
pected; but  she  had  seen  the  momentary  light  in  his 
eyes  and  the  tightening  of  his  lips,  and  knew  that  their 
relations  could  never  be  exactly  what  they  had  been. 
Something  had  come  about,  for  the  fact  that  he  had 
found  it  necessary  to  put  a  restraint  upon  himself  had 
made  a  change.  Perhaps  he  felt  that  silence  was  inad- 
visable, and  once  more  she  appreciated  the  good  sense 
that  prompted  him  to  talk,  much  as  a  seaman  would 
have  done,  of  the  straightness  of  the  shadowy  redwoods 
they  passed  and  their  value  as  masts,  though  this  was 
naturally  not  a  subject  that  greatly  interested  her. 

When  they  reached  the  beach  they  found  that  Valen- 
tine had  left  them  the  Siwash  canoe;  and  the  rest,  with 
the  exception  of  Nellie  Austerly,  were  sitting  in  the 
Sorata's  cockpit  when  Jimmy  paddled  alongside.  Miss 
Merril  furnished  a  suitable  explanation  of  their  delay, 
but  she  overlooked  the  fact  that  Valentine  was  acquaint- 
ed with  the  bush  about  that  Inlet. 

"You  must  have  struck  the  creek,"  he  said.  "I 
should  have  remembered  to  tell  you  about  it." 

He  looked  at  Jimmy,  but  the  latter  wisely  decided  to 
leave  it  to  Miss  Merril,  and  turned  his  attention  to  the 


78  THRICE    ARMED 

canoe.  He  felt  that  she  was  competent  to  handle  the 
matter. 

"I  was  almost  waist-deep  when  I  last  went  through," 
said  Valentine,  who  did  not  display  his  usual  perspica- 
city. "How  did  you  get  across?" 

Anthea  dismissed  the  subject  with  perfect  compo- 
sure. "Then  there  could  not  have  been  anything  like 
so  much  water.  Jimmy  helped  me  over." 

Jimmy  went  forward,  and  disappeared  through  the 
scuttle  into  the  forecastle,  and  some  little  while  later 
Valentine  came  down  and  looked  at  him  with  a  dry 
smile. 

"I  don't  yet  understand  how  Miss  Merril  got  across 
that  creek,"  he  said. 

"I  fancied  she  told  you;"  and  Jimmy  felt  his  face 
grow  warm. 

Valentine  laughed.  "Perhaps  she  did,  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  she  wasn't  remarkably  explicit." 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  and  presently  climbed  into  his 
berth,  where  he  lay  for  a  while  trying  to  recall  every 
incident  of  the  journey  he  and  Anthea  Merril  had  made 
through  the  shadowy  bush,  until  it  occurred  to  him 
that  he  was  only  preparing  trouble  for  himself  by 
doing  so,  and  he  went  to  sleep. 

It  was  raining  when  he  awoke,  and  it  rained  for 
most  of  three  days  as  hard  as  it  often  does  on  that 
coast,  until  the  crystal  depths  of  the  Inlet  grew  turbid, 
and  it  flowed  seaward  between  its  dripping  walls  of 
mountains  like  a  river.  At  last  one  afternoon  the  clouds 
were  rolled  away,  and  when  fierce,  glaring  sunshine  beat 
down  Austerly  decided  that  he  would  go  ashore  to  fish. 
The  men  went  with  him,  Valentine  to  pull  the  dory  into 


BLOWN  OFF  79 

the  swollen  river,  Jimmy  and  Louis  in  the  Siwash  canoe 
to  gather  bark  for  fuel.  When  they  approached  the 
beach  where  they  usually  landed,  Jimmy  glanced 
thoughtfully  at  the  great  torn-up  pines  that  went  slid- 
ing by. 

"If  one  of  those  logs  drove  across  her  it  might  start 
a  plank,"  he  said.  "Besides,  there's  every  sign  of  a 
vicious  breeze,  and  I  think  I'll  go  off  by  and  by  and 
swing  her  in  behind  the  next  point.  She  would  lie 
snugger  there  out  of  the  stream." 

Valentine  looked  up  at  the  hard  blue  sky  across 
which  ragged  cloud-wisps  were  driving,  and  nodded. 
"It  generally  does  blow  quite  fresh  after  rain  like  what 
we  have  had,"  he  said.  "You  could  break  the  anchor 
out  yourself.  I  want  Louis  to  get  a  good  load  of  bark." 

Jimmy  went  ashore  with  Louis,  who  carried  a  big 
axe,  but  by  and  by  he  left  the  latter  busy,  and  wan- 
dered back  to  the  beach.  He  did  not  like  the  angry 
glare  of  sunlight  and  the  way  the  wind  fell  in  whirling 
gusts  down  the  steep  hillside.  As  it  happened,  another 
big  log  drove  by  while  he  stood  among  the  boulders,  and 
remembering  that  the  two  girls  were  alone  in  the  yacht, 
he  launched  the  canoe,  and  sat  still,  just  dipping  the 
paddle,  while  the  stream  swept  him  down  to  the  Sorata. 
When  he  boarded  her  she  was  swinging  uneasily  in  a 
swirl  of  muddy  current,  and  Anthea,  who  sat  in  the 
cockpit,  appeared  pleased  to  see  him. 

"One  would  almost  fancy  it  was  going  to  blow  very 
hard,"  she  said. 

Jimmy  laughed.  "I  believe  it  is;  but  we  should  be 
snug  against  anything  in  the  little  cove  yonder  with  a 


80  THRICE    ARMED 

rope  or  two  ashore.  I  wonder  whether  you  could  sheer 
her  for  me  while  I  break  out  the  anchor?" 

The  girl  went  to  the  tiller,  and  while  Jimmy,  standing 
forward,  plied  the  little  winch,  the  cable  slowly  rattled 
in.  Then  he  broke  out  the  anchor,  and  the  boat  slid 
astern  until  a  cove,  where  dark  fir  branches  stretched 
out  over  the  still,  deep  water,  opened  up.  Dropping 
the  anchor,  he  turned  to  the  girl. 

"Starboard !"  he  said. 

Anthea  shoved  over  her  tiller ;  but  the  Sorata  did  not 
swing  into  the  cove  as  Jimmy  had  expected  her  to  do, 
for  a  blast  that  set  the  pines  roaring  fell  from  the  hill- 
side and  drove  her  out  from  the  shore.  Jimmy  let  more 
chain  run,  and  stood  still  looking  about  him,  when  he 
felt  the  anchor  grip.  The  sunlight  had  faded,  obscured 
by  ragged  clouds,  the  tall  pines  swayed  above  him,  and 
the  Sorata  had  swung  well  out  athwart  the  stream. 

"Since  I  can't  kedge  her  with  this  breeze,  I'll  take  a 
line  ashore  and  warp  her  in,"  he  said. 

It  appeared  advisable,  for  there  were  more  pine-logs 
coming  down,  and  he  pitched  a  coil  of  rope  into  the 
canoe;  but  the  rest,  as  he  discovered,  was  much  more 
difficult.  Jimmy  had  been  used  to  boats  in  which  one 
could  stand  up  and  row,  while  a  Siwash  river  canoe  is  a 
very  different  kind  of  craft.  As  a  result,  he  several 
times  almost  capsized  her,  and  lost  a  good  deal  of 
ground  when  a  gust  struck  her  lifted  prow;  so  that 
some  time  had  passed  when  the  line  brought  him  up  still 
a  few  yards  from  the  beach.  He  looked  around  at  the 
Sorata  with  a  shout. 

"I  want  a  few  more  fathoms,"  he  called.  "Can  you 
fasten  on  the  other  line,  Miss  Merril?" 


BLOWN   OFF  81 

He  saw  the  girl,  who  moved  forward  along  the  deck, 
stop  and  clutch  at  a  shroud,  but  that  was  all,  for  just 
then  the  dark  firs  roared  and  the  water  seethed  white 
about  him  as  he  plied  the  paddle.  The  canoe  turned 
around  in  spite  of  him,  drove  out  into  the  stream,  and, 
while  he  strove  desperately  to  steer  her,  struck  the 
Sorata  with  a  crash.  The  boat  lifted  her  side  a  little 
as  he  swung  himself  on  board,  and  there  was  a  curious 
harsh  grating  forward.  Anthea,  who  stepped  down 
into  the  cockpit,  had  lost  her  hat,  and  her  hair  whipped 
her  face. 

"I  think  she  has  started  her  anchor,"  she  said. 

Jimmy  was  sure  of  it  when  he  ran  forward  and  let 
several  fathoms  of  chain  run  without  bringing  her  up, 
for  the  bottom  was  apparently  shingle  washed  down 
from  the  hillside. 

"We'll  have  to  get  the  kedge  over,"  he  said. 

He  dropped  unceremoniously  into  the  saloon,  where 
Miss  Austerly  lay  on  the  settee,  and  tore  up  the  floor- 
ings, beneath  which,  as  space  is  valuable  on  board  a 
craft  of  the  Sorata's  size,  the  smaller  anchor  is  some- 
times kept.  He  could  not,  however,  find  it  anywhere, 
and  when  he  swung  himself,  hot  and  breathless,  out  on 
deck,  the  yacht  was  driving  seaward  stern  foremost, 
taking  her  anchor  with  her,  while  the  whole  Inlet  was 
ridged  with  lines  of  white.  Anthea  Merril  looked  at 
him  with  suppressed  apprehension  in  her  eyes. 

"We  must  get  a  warp  ashore  somehow,"  he  said.  "I 
might  sheer  her  in  under  the  staysail." 

The  girl  went  forward  with  him,  and  gasped  as  they 
hauled  together  at  the  halyard  which  hoisted  the  sail; 
and  when  half  of  it  was  up,  she  sped  aft  to  the  tiller, 


82  THRICE    ARMED 

and  Jimmy  made  desperate  efforts  to  shorten  in  the 
cable.  There  was  another  cove  not  far  astern  into 
which  he  might  work  the  boat.  The  anchor,  however, 
came  away  before  he  expected  it,  and,  though  he  did  not 
think  it  was  the  girl's  fault,  the  half -hoisted  sail  swung 
over,  and  the  Sorata,  in  place  of  creeping  back  toward 
the  beach,  drove  away  toward  the  opposite  shore,  where 
the  stream  swept  over  ragged  rock.  Jimmy,  jumping 
aft,  seized  the  tiller,  and  while  the*  Inlet  seethed  into 
little  splashing  ridges  the  Sorata  swept  on  seaward  with 
the  breeze  astern.  He  stood  still  a  moment,  gasping, 
and  then,  while  the  girl  looked  at  him  with  inquiring 
eyes,  signed  her  to  take  the  helm  again. 

"I  must  get  the  trysail  on  her,  and  try  to  beat  her 
back.  We  may  be  able  to  do  it — I  don't  know,"  he  said. 
"It's  deep  water  along  those  rocks,  and  she'd  chafe 
through  and  go  down;  otherwise  I'd  ram  her  ashore." 

He  spent  several  arduous  minutes  tearing  every  spare 
sail  out  of  the  stern  locker  before  he  reached  the  one 
he  wanted,  and  it  was  at  least  five  minutes  more  before 
he  had  laced  it  to  its  gaff,  while  by  then  there  were  only 
jagged  rocks,  over  which  the  sea  that  washed  into  the 
open  entrance  to  the  Inlet  seethed  whitely,  under  the 
Sorata's  lee.  Jimmy  glanced  at  them,  and  quietly 
lashed  the  trysail  gaff  to  the  boom  before  he  turned  to 
Anthea  Merril. 

"I'm  sorry,"  he  said.  "We  couldn't  stay  her  under 
the  trysail  with  the  puffs  twisting  all  ways  flung  back 
by  the  trees.  Besides,  she'd  probably  drive  down  upon 
the  reefs  before  I  got  it  up.  It's  quite  evident  we  can't 
go  ashore  there." 

The  girl  glanced  ahead,  and  her  heart  sank  a  little 


BLOWN   OFF  83 

as  she  saw  the  long  Pacific  roll  heave  across  the  open- 
ing in  big  gray  slopes  that  were  ridged  with  froth. 
Then  she  turned  to  Jimmy,  who  stood  regarding  her 
gravely  in  the  steamboat  jacket,  burst  shoes,  and  man- 
o'-war  cap,  and  a  look  of  confidence  crept  into  her 
eyes.  She  felt  that  this  man  could  be  depended  on. 

"We  shall  have  to  run  out  to  sea?"  she  asked. 

Jimmy  nodded,  and  she  was  glad  that  he  answered 
frankly,  as  to  one  who  was  his  equal  in  courage. 

"There  is  no  help  for  it,"  he  said.  "Still,  she'U  go 
clear  of  the  shore  as  she  is,  and  I  don't  think  we  need 
be  anxious  about  her  when  she's  under  trysail  in  open 
water." 

Anthea  looked  at  him  again,  with  a  spot  of  color  in 
her  cheek. 

"It  may  blow  for  several  days,"  she  said.  "If  I 
can  help  in  any  way " 

"You  can,"  said  Jimmy  abruptly.  "Go  down  now 
and  fix  Miss  Austerly  and  yourself  something  to  eat. 
You  mightn't  be  able  to  do  it  afterwards.  Then  you 
can  bring  me  up  some  bread  and  coffee." 

Anthea  disappeared  into  the  saloon  with  her  cheeks 
tingling  and  a  curious  smile  in  her  eyes.  She  under- 
stood what  had  happened.  Now  that  they  were  at 
close  grip  with  the  elements,  Jimmy  had  asserted  him- 
self in  primitive  fashion,  and  he  could,  she  felt,  be 
trusted  to  do  his  part. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

JIMMY  TAKES  COMMAND 

DARKNESS  was  closing  down  on  the  waste  of 
tumbling  foam,  and  the  Sorata  was  clear  of 
the  shore,  when  Jimmy  made  shift  to  hoist  the 
trysail  reduced  by  two  reefs  to  a  narrow  strip  of 
drenched  canvas.  Then,  while  Anthea  Merril  held  the 
helm,  he  proceeded  to  set  the  little  spitfire  jib.  How- 
ever, he  clung  to  the  weather-shrouds,  gasping  and 
dripping  with  perspiration  for  the  first  few  moments, 
because  the  struggle  with  the  trysail  had  tried  his 
strength.  Indeed,  Anthea,  who  stood  bareheaded  at  the 
helm  with  her  loosened  hair  whipping  about  her,  won- 
dered how  he  had  contrived  to  do  it  alone  in  that 
strength  of  wind. 

His  figure,  shapeless  in  the  streaming  oilskins,  cut 
darkly  against  the  livid  foam  as  the  Sorata  swung  her 
bows  high  above  the  sea,  and  then  was  almost  lost  in  a 
filmy  cloud  as  she  plunged  and  buried  them  in  the  breast 
of  a  big  comber.  Suddenly,  however,  he  dropped  on 
hands  and  knees,  and,  crouching  with  one  arm  around 
the  forestay,  hauled  the  strip  of  canvas  out  along  the 
bowsprit  until  once  more  a  sea  smote  the  Sorata  and  he 
sank  into  a  rush  of  foam.  The  girl  caught  her  breath 
as  she  waited  until  the  boat  swung  her  head  out  again, 

84 


JIMMY  TAKES   COMMAND  85 

for  it  was  very  evident  that  the  man  alone  stood  be- 
tween her  and  destruction. 

He  swung  into  sight,  clinging  with  an  arm  around 
jib  and  bowsprit  until  he  staggered  to  his  feet,  and  a 
strip  of  sailcloth  that  went  aloft  beat  him  with  its  wet 
folds  amidst  a  frantic  banging.  Anthea  scarcely  dared 
to  look  at  him  as  he  struggled  with  the  rope  that  hoisted 
it,  and  she  gasped  with  relief  when  at  last  he  came 
scrambling  back  and  pushed  her  from  the  tiller. 

"Thanks !"  he  said.  "Go  down  and  get  Miss  Austerly 
on  to  the  leeward  settee,  and  then  try  to  sleep.  The 
boat  ought  to  lie-to  dryly  until  the  morning,  but  I  can't 
leave  the  tiller." 

Anthea  just  heard  him  through  the  turmoil  of  the 
sea,  and  did  not  resent  the  grasp  he  had  laid  on  her 
shoulder.  Quietly  imperious  as  she  usually  was,  it 
seemed  only  fitting  that  she  should  obey  him  then.  She 
went  down  through  the  little  companion,  and  Jimmy, 
pulling  the  slide  to  after  her,  settled  himself  for  his 
long  night-watch  as  darkness  rolled  down  upon  the  sea. 
He  was  anxious,  but  not  unduly  so,  for  the  boat  was 
high  of  side  and  able;  and  a  comparatively  small  craft 
will  usually  ride  out  a  vicious  breeze  if  one  can  keep  her 
hove-to  under  a  strip  or  two  of  sail,  so  as  to  meet  the 
sea  while  not  forging  through  it  with  her  weather-bow. 
Indeed,  after  the  first  half-hour  he  felt  somewhat  re- 
assured, and  his  thoughts  went  back  to  a  subject  which 
had  occupied  them  somewhat  frequently  of  late,  and 
that,  not  unnaturally,  was  Anthea  Merril. 

She  was,  he  knew,  the  daughter  of  the  man  who  was 
ruining  his  father,  but  that  was  an  incident  and  no 
fault  of  hers.  It  was,  he  fancied,  clear  that  she  knew 


86  THRICE    ARMED 

nothing  about  Merril's  business  operations,  and  was 
unacquainted  with  one  aspect  of  his  character.  In  fact, 
it  seemed  to  him  that  there  was  a  painful  shock  in  store 
for  her  when  she  made  the  discovery.  He  had  never 
met  a  woman  with  so  much  that  compelled  his  appre- 
ciation besides  her  physical  beauty.  Her  quiet 
graciousness  and  courage  had  their  effect  on  him,  and 
he  was  sure,  at  least,  that  he  would  never  feel  quite  the 
same  regard  for  anybody  else.  Indeed,  he  admitted 
that  she  was  a  woman  with  whom  he  might  have  fallen 
in  love  had  circumstances  been  propitious,  but,  as  they 
certainly  were  not,  he  strove  to  assure  himself  that  he 
had  sense  and  will  enough  to  refrain  from  thinking 
more  of  her  than  was  advisable. 

These  reflections  were,  however,  fragmentary,  for  the 
boat  required  attention,  and  he  fancied  that  a  good  deal 
of  water  was  finding  its  way  into  her.  The  Sorata 
would  not  lie-to  without  somebody  at  the  helm,  and  he 
could  only  leave  the  tiller  lashed  for  a  few  minutes  now 
and  then  while  he  labored  at  the  little  rotary  pump. 
Once  or  twice  when  he  did  so,  a  foot  of  brine  came 
frothing  into  the  cockpit  across  the  coaming,  and  he 
commenced  to  wonder  how  long  the  breeze  would  last, 
for  he  was  becoming  sensible  that  another  twelve  hours 
of  it  would  probably  be  as  much  as  he  could  stand. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  night  was  wearing  through,  and 
at  last  a  faint  light,  crept  up  from  the  east  across  the 
waste  of  tumbling  seas.  They  were  not  by  any  means 
mountainous,  for  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  very  prob- 
able that  the  biggest  ocean  sea  scarcely  exceeds  forty 
feet  between  its  trough  and  summit,  but  they  rolled 
up  out  of  the  northwest  in  a  continuous  phalanx  of 


JIMMY  TAKES   COMMAND  87 

steep,  gray  ridges  crested  with  spouting  froth  that 
looked  quite  big  enough.  The  drift  whirled  across  them, 
and  now  and  then  wrapped  the  craft  in  wisps  of  filmy 
smoke,  while  Jimmy,  with  smarting  and  temporarily 
blinded  eyes,  trusted  to  the  feel  of  the  tiller.  He  was  as 
wet  as  he  could  be,  as  well  as  stiff  and  cold,  and  it  was 
with  relief  and  some  astonishment  that  he  saw  the  saloon 
companion  open,  and  Miss  Merril  appear  with  a  plate 
and  a  jug  of  steaming  coffee. 

Her  skirt  was  woefully  bedraggled,  from  which  he 
surmised  that  there  was  more  water  than  there  should 
be  in  the  saloon,  and  her  hair  was  promptly  powdered 
with  glistening  spray;  but  her  face  was  quiet,  and  she 
sat  down  collectedly,  huddling  herself  on  a  locker,  where 
the  after  bulkhead  of  the  saloon  partly  sheltered  her. 
Jimmy  dropped  into  the  cockpit,  and  crouched  there 
with  the  tiller  against  his  shoulder,  for  nobody  could 
have  eaten  in  the  face  of  that  wind.  Then  he  stretched 
out  a  hand  for  the  coffee. 

"I'm  unusually  glad  to  get  it.  It  was  very  kind  of 
you,"  he  said. 

Anthea  smiled.  "Why?"  she  asked.  "Are  you  sure 
it  wasn't  selfishness?  We  couldn't  take  the  boat  home 
without  you,  and  a  man  must  eat  if  he  has  to  go  on  with 
this  kind  of  task." 

Jimmy  looked  at  her,  and,  finding  no  very  apposite  re- 
joinder, nodded.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I  suppose  he  must; 
but  did  you  get  anything  for  yourself  or  Miss  Austerly  ? 
You  can't  live  on  nothing  any  more  than  I  can.  At 
least,  that's  the  conclusion  I've  come  to  after  what  I've 
noticed  in  the  mail-boat's  saloons." 

He  was  aware  that  he  had  made  a  slip,  but  fancied  it 


88  THRICE    ARMED 

had  escaped  his  companion's  attention,  which,  of  course, 
displayed  very  little  perspicacity.  In  the  meanwhile,  he 
got  a  turn  of  the  weather  tiller  line  round  a  cleat,  and 
lowered  himself  further  until  he  sat  in  the  cockpit  with 
several  inches  of  water  swishing  about  him. 

"Nellie  is  asleep  at  last.  I  did  not  awaken  her,"  said 
his  companion. 

"That  isn't  all  I  asked.  Did  you  get  anything  your- 
self?" 

The  girl  said  she  had  not  done  so,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment there  was  the  faintest  suspicion  of  color  in  her 
face. 

"Then  you  will  share  what  you  have  brought  with 
me,"  said  Jimmy. 

"There  isn't  a  cup.  I  couldn't  find  one  that  wasn't 
broken.  The  forecastle  shelf  has  torn  away." 

"You  couldn't  have  kept  the  coffee  in  it  if  you  had. 
Take  what  you  want  before  it  gets  cold,"  and  Jimmy 
pointed  to  the  jug. 

Anthea  raised  it  to  her  lips,  and  then  pushed  it  back 
along  the  cockpit  floor,  while,  though  she  had  not  meant 
to  do  so,  she  flashed  a  swift  glance  at  her  companion 
when  he  held  it  in  his  hand.  As  it  happened,  Jimmy 
looked  at  her  just  then,  and  she  saw  the  little  glint  in 
his  eyes.  He  felt  that  she  had  done  so,  and,  while  he 
would  not  have  had  it  happen,  let  his  gaze  rest  on  her 
steadily  while  he  made  her  a  little  inclination.  Then  he 
drank,  and,  after  he  had  thrust  the  plate  in  her  direc- 
tion, broke  off  a  portion  of  bread  and  canned  meat, 
some  of  which  crumbled  and  stuck  to  his  wet  oilskins. 

He  was  quite  aware  that  neither  his  attitude  nor  man- 
ner of  eating  was  especially  graceful,  but  that  could 


JIMMY  TAKES  COMMAND  89 

not  be  helped,  and  he  laughed  when  his  companion 
clutched  at  the  remnant  on  the  plate.  She  smiled  at 
him  too,  and  he  wondered  why  they  were  both  apparent- 
ly so  much  at  ease.  Still,  it  did  not  seem  in  any  way  an 
unusual  or  unfitting  thing  that  he  and  this  delicately 
brought  up  girl  should  make  their  meal  as  equals  in  the 
little  dripping  cockpit  with  a  single  plate  and  one  drink- 
ing vessel  between  them.  He  felt  that  it  was  as  a  com- 
rade she  regarded  him,  in  place  of  tolerating  him  from 
necessity,  and  he  noticed  that  even  under  the  very  un- 
comfortable conditions  she  ate  daintily. 

"Where  are  we?"  she  asked  at  last. 

"About  twenty  miles  to  leeward  of  the  Inlet,  and 
perhaps  eight  off  the  shore.  At  least,  I  should  like  to 
believe  we  are.  How  is  it  you  look  so  fresh,  instead  of 
worn  out?  Where  did  you  learn  to  make  yourself  at 
home  in  a  boat?" 

"In  Toronto,"  said  Anthea.  I  was  there  two  years, 
and  they  are  fond  of  yachting  in  that  city.  I  once  did 
some  sailing  in  England  too.  What  do  you  think 
of  their  boats?  It  is,  perhaps,  fortunate  Valentine  made 
the  Sorata  a  cutter,  as  they  generally  do,  instead  of  a 
sloop.  You  could  hardly  have  handled  her  under  the 
latter's  single  headsail  last  night." 

"No,"  said  Jimmy,  "I  don't  think  I  could.  If  she 
had  been  rigged  that  way  she  would  probably  have  gone 
under  by  now.  Still,  I  don't  see  why  you  should  expect 
me  to  know  anything  about  English  boats." 

Anthea  smiled  as  she  looked  at  him-  "Perhaps  you 
don't,  though  you  don't  invariably  express  yourself  as 
a  man  would  who  had  never  been  away  from  the  Pacific 
Slope." 


90  THRICE    ARMED 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy  reflectively,  "it's  not  quite  a  sure 
thing  that  the  way  they  talk  in  an  English  ship's  fore- 
castle is  very  much  nicer." 

"There  are  more  places  in  a  mail-boat  than  her  fore- 
castle." 

It  seemed  to  Jimmy  advisable  to  change  the  subject, 
and  he  made  a  little  grimace  as  he  glanced  at  the  plate. 

"I'm  afraid  I've  cleaned  up  everything,"  he  said. 

Anthea  laughed.  "Which  is  quite  as  it  should  be. 
I  can  get  more,  and  you  can't.  Still,  perhaps  you  have 
left  some  coffee." 

Jimmy  was  about  to  point  out  that  there  was  no  cup, 
but  refrained,  for  it  flashed  on  him  that  his  companion 
was,  of  course,  aware  of  this,  and  he  gravely  handed  her 
the  jug.  What  her  purpose  was  he  did  not  know,  and 
indeed  he  was  never  clear  on  this  point,  though  he  fan- 
cied that  she  had  one;  but  it  was,  at  least,  evident 
that  she  was  damp  and  chilled,  and  needed  the  physical 
stimulant.  The  trifling  act,  it  seemed,  might  equally 
be  a  pledge  of  camaraderie,  or  a  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  they  were  for  the  time  being  no  more  than  man  and 
woman  between  whom  all  distinctions  had  vanished  in 
the  face  of  peril;  but  he  seemed  to  feel  it  had  a  still 
deeper  significance.  He  had  once  held  her  in  his  arms, 
and  now  they  had  shared  the  same  plate  and  drunk  from 
the  same  vessel. 

Then  the  S  or  at  a  reminded  him  that  she  required  at- 
tention, for  a  sea  seethed  on  board  her  forward,  and 
when  it  poured  into  the  cockpit  he  swung  himself  back 
to  the  coaming.  A  minute  or  two  later  he  stretched  out 
his  hand,  and  the  girl  drew  in  her  breath  as  she  glanced 
ahead,  for  a  sail  materialized  suddenly  out  of  the  vapor. 


JIMMY  TAKES  COMMAND  91 

It  was  suggestively  slanted,  and  a  dusky  strip  that 
looked  very  small  appeared  beneath  it  when  it  swung 
high  on  the  crest  of  a  sea. 

"Siwashes,"  said  Jimmy;  "one  of  their  sea  canoes. 
They  have  to  keep  her  running.  She  wouldn't  lie-to." 

The  craft  drew  abreast  of  them,  traveling  wonder- 
fully fast,  and  Anthea  long  remembered  how  she  drove 
by  the  Sorata,  hove  half  her  length  out  of  water,  riding 
on  the  ridge  of  a  big  gray  sea.  She  was  entirely  open, 
a  long,  narrow,  bird-headed  thing,  and  the  foam  she 
flung  off  forward  seemed  to  lap  over  her  after-half.  A 
little  drenched  spritsail  was  spread  from  an  insignifi- 
cant mast,  and  four  crouching  figures  with  dusky  faces 
were  partly  visible  amidst  the  wisps  of  spray  that 
whirled  about  her.  One  of  them  held  a  long  paddle,  and 
looked  fixedly  ahead;  the  others  gazed  at  the  Sorata 
expressionlessly  until  the  craft  swooped  down  between 
two  seas.  Jimmy  saw  his  companion's  hands  clench  on 
the  coaming,  and  the  color  ebb  from  her  face,  and  then 
she  gasped  as  the  little  strip  of  canvas  swung  into  sight 
again. 

"Ah !"  she  said,  "it's  a  trifle  horrible  to  watch  them ; 
and  what  must  it  be  to  steer  her?  How  many  of  us  in 
the  cities  know  what  the  struggle  for  existence  really 
is?" 

Jimmy  nodded  assent.  "At  least,"  he  said,  "the 
thing  is  tolerably  clear  to  the  men  who  live  at  sea. 
If  that  Siwash  lost  his  nerve  for  a  moment  the  next 
comber  would  swallow  the  canoe.  After  all,  the  sea 
knows  no  distinctions ;  white  men  and  red  men  alike  must 
face  the  strain." 

"In  the  big  mail-boats  too?" 


92  THRICE    ARMED 

"Of  course.  I'm  not  sure  it  isn't  a  little  heavier  there. 
When  you  are  traveling  as  fast  as  a  freight  train  there 
is  little  time  to  decide  how  you  will  clear  a  crossing 
steamer,  or  to  pick  out  green  from  yellow  among  a 
blink  of  sliding  lights.  The  man  who  fails  is  very  apt 
to  hurl  as  much  as  fourteen  thousand  tons  of  hull  and 
cargo  into  destruction,  and,  perhaps,  two  thousand  pas- 
sengers into  another  world,  though  some  vessels  now 
carry  more  than  that.  The  owner  seldom  gets  rich 
when  he  doesn't ;  and  there  is,  after  all,  no  very  great 
difference  between  his  lot  and  that  of  the  Siwash,  who 
stakes  his  life  against  the  value  of  a  few  salmon  or 
halibut." 

He  broke  off  with  a  laugh.  "Hadn't  you  better  go 
back?  You  are  getting  very  wet." 

Anthea  did  so,  and  it  was  almost  noon  when  she  came 
up  again.  Jimmy  still  sat  at  the  tiller,  and  his  wet  face 
looked  a  trifle  worn ;  but  the  breeze  had  softened,  and 
as  the  girl  glanced  round  her,  a  shaft  of  sunlight  fell 
suddenly  upon  the  foaming  sea. 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy,  "it's  blowing  itself  out.  I  expect 
we'll  be  able  to  shake  the  reefs  out  of  the  trysail  and 
beat  up  for  the  Inlet  before  it's  dark.  If  it  were  neces- 
sary I  would  run  her  before  it  now." 

"Wouldn't  there  be  shelter  in  one  of  the  inlets  to 
leeward  ?"  asked  the  girl,  with  a  very  natural  longing  to 
escape  from  the  strain  and  turmoil. 

"It's  very  probable,"  said  Jimmy.  "I  dare  say  I 
could  make  one.  Still,  you  see " 

He  stopped,  and  Anthea  flushed  ever  so  slightly,  for 
it  was  evident  to  her  that  she  and  her  companion  could 


JIMMY  TAKES   COMMAND  93 

not  extend  that  cruise  indefinitely  in  company  with 
Valentine's  hired  man. 

"Of  course!"  she  said.  "Austerly  will  be  horribly 
anxious.  Well,  if  you  think  you  could  leave  the  tiller 
lashed,  I  have  dinner  ready." 

"I  believe  I  could.  Still,  it  might  be  awkward  to 
get  back  fast  enough  from  the  forecastle  in  case  of 
necessity." 

"I  wonder,"  said  the  girl,  "whether  you  have  any  very 
decided  objections  to  sitting  down  with  us  in  the  saloon? 
If  you  have,  it  would  make  it  necessary  for  Nellie  or 
me  to  bring  the  things  out  to  you." 

Jimmy  fancied  that  the  last  was  an  inspiration,  and 
after  a  glance  to  windward  went  down  into  the  saloon, 
which  was  very  wet.  Miss  Austerly,  who  seemed  to 
have  stood  the  shaking  better  than  he  expected,  reclined 
on  one  settee  with  her  feet  drawn  up  for  the  sake  of 
dryness,  and  she  smiled  at  him.  He  wondered  when  he 
saw  how  the  little  swing-table  was  set.  Miss  Merril, 
finding  the  crockery  kept  for  charterers  mostly  smashed, 
had  apparently  come  upon  Valentine's  enameled  and 
indurated  ware. 

There  was  no  restraint  upon  any  of  them  during  the 
meal.  The  fact  that  the  breeze  was  undoubtedly  falling 
would  have  been  sufficient  in  itself  to  restore  their  cheer- 
fulness, but  Jimmy  was  also  sensible  of  a  curious  ex- 
hilaration, and  discoursed  whimsically  upon  various 
topics  besides  the  sea.  In  fact,  he  was  astonished  to  find 
that  he  had  been  away  an  hour  when  at  last  he  went 
back  to  the  cockpit.  The  breeze  was  falling  rapidly, 
and  before  Anthea  prepared  the  supper,  which  was,  as 
usual  in  that  country,  at  about  six  o'clock,  he  had  set 


94.  THRICE    ARMED 

the  whole  trysail,  and  soon  afterward  he  got  the  reefed 
mainsail  up.  By  midnight  the  Sorata  was  close  in  with 
the  coast,  working  fast  to  windward  through  smooth 
water  with  her  biggest  topsail  set,  while  a  half-moon 
hung  low  in  the  western  sky.  The  sea  gleamed  silver 
under  it,  and  scarcely  half  a  mile  away  dim  hillsides 
and  long  ranks  of  somber  pines  half -veiled  in  fleecy 
mists  went  sliding  by. 

The  soft  gleam  of  the  swinging  lamps  in  the  saloon 
shone  out  in  faint  streams  of  colored  radiance  through 
the  skylights,  and,  late  as  it  was,  Nellie  Austerly  nestled 
well  wrapped  up  on  a  locker  in  the  cockpit.  She 
watched  the  long  swell  break  away  from  beneath  the 
bows  in  glittering  cascades,  and  Jimmy  fancied  he  knew 
what  she  was  thinking  when  she  gazed  aloft  at  the  tall 
spire  of  canvas  that  shone  in  the  moonlight  as  white 
as  the  peak  ahead  of  them.  It  was  a  nocturne  in  blue 
and  silver,  and  if  sound  were  wanted,  the  splashing  at 
the  bows  and  the  deep  rumble  of  the  surf  emphasized 
the  softer  harmonies  of  the  night. 

"You  are  not  so  very  sorry  we  were  blown  off,  after 
all?"  he  asked. 

The  girl  smiled.  "No,"  she  said;  "I  managed  to 
sleep  through  a  good  deal  of  it,  and  now  I  feel  almost 
as  fresh  as  if  I  had  stayed  ashore.  Besides,  this  would 
make  up  for  anything.  One  could  almost  wish  we 
could  sail  south  with  the  topsail  up  under  the  moonlight 
— forever.  In  spite  of  the  bad  weather,  I  have  been  so 
well  since  I  came  to  sea." 

"Just  the  three  of  us  ?"  asked  Jimmy  unguardedly. 

He  saw  the  twinkle  in  the  girl's  eyes  as  she  glanced 
at  her  companion,  who  sat  close  by. 


JIMMY  TAKES   COMMAND  95 

"I  wonder,"  she  said,  "whether  you  would  like  that, 
Anthea?  I  almost  think  I  should." 

The  moonlight  sufficed  to  show  the  faint  tinge  of 
color  in  Anthea's  face,  but  she  laughed.  "And  what 
about  your  father?" 

Nellie  Austerly  did  not  appear  concerned.  "It  is 
very  undutiful,  for  he  must  have  been  anxious;  but  I 
really  can't  help  feeling  amused  when  I  think  of  him  and 
Mr.  Valentine  being  left  on  the  beach  to  sleep  in  the 
Siwash  rancherie.  One  understands  they  are  rather 
dreadful  places,  and  he  is  so  horribly  particular,  you 
know." 

Anthea  said  nothing  further,  and  presently  the  two 
girls  went  below,  but  they  were  about  again  when,  soon 
after  six  o'clock  next  morning,  Jimmy  beat  the  Sorata 
into  the  Inlet.  Indeed,  he  left  Anthea  at  the  tiller  while 
he  went  into  the  saloon  to  look  for  a  piece  of  spun  yarn 
which  Valentine  kept  in  one  of  the  lockers.  Nellie 
Austerly  smiled  at  him  as  he  opened  it. 

"I  suppose  we  shall  be  in  very  soon,  and  I  want  to 
thank  you  now  for  bringing  me  back  safe,"  she  said. 
"Anthea,  of  course,  can  thank  you  for  herself." 

Jimmy  felt  a  trifle  embarrassed.  "I  really  don't  see 
why  she  should.  I  think  the  charter  covers  anything  I 
have  done." 

The  girl  made  a  little  whimsical  gesture.  "Does  it? 
You  are  not  a  regular  yacht-hand,  really?" 

"I  am,  at  least,  mate  of  a  lumber-carrying  schooner, 
which  comes  to  much  the  same  thing." 

The  twinkle  in  Nellie  Austerly's  eyes  grew  plainer. 
"I  can  be  quite  frank  with  Mr.  Valentine  and  you,  and 
perhaps  it  is  because  I  like  you  both.  You  can  make 


96  THRICE    ARMED 

what  you  think  fit  of  that.  Still,  I  haven't  asked  you 
how  long  you  have  been  on  board  the  schooner,  and 
one  understands  there  are  a  good  many  opportunities 
for  men — like  you  and  Mr.  Valentine — in  this  country." 

Jimmy  was  a  little  startled,  for  it  almost  seemed  that 
she  had  guessed  his  thoughts,  but  he  smiled. 

"Valentine  seems  to  have  all  he  wants  already.  He 
is  content  with  the  sea." 

The  girl  laughed.  "Well,"  she  said,  "I  don't  think 
the  sea  would  altogether  satisfy  him.  But  I  must  not 
keep  you  here;  hadn't  you  better  make  sure  Anthea 
isn't  running  us  ashore?" 

Jimmy  went  up,  and  found  the  Sorata  was  smoothly 
slipping  by  the  climbing  pines ;  and  a  little  later  her 
dory  with  three  white  men  in  it  came  sliding  toward 
them  as  he  hauled  the  topsail  down. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MERRIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW 

THE  Sorata  went  to  sea  again  next  morning,  and 
one  night  a  week  later  she  bore  up  for  Van- 
couver before  a  westerly  breeze.  A  thin  cres- 
cent moon  had  just  cleared  the  dim  white  line  of  the 
mainland  snow,  and  the  sea  glittered  faintly  in  her 
frothing  wake  under  a  vast  sweep  of  dusky  blue.  The 
big  topsail  swayed  across  it,  blotting  out  the  stars, 
and  there  was  a  rhythmic  splashing  beneath  the  bows. 

Anthea  Merril  stood  at  the  tiller  outlined  against  the 
heave  of  sea,  for  the  night  was  warm  and  she  was 
dressed  in  white.  Nellie  Austerly  sat  on  a  locker  in 
the  cockpit,  and  her  father  on  the  saloon  skylights  with 
a  cigar  in  his  hand.  Valentine  lay  on  the  deck  not  far 
away,  and  Jimmy  a  little  further  forward. 

"I  suppose  we  will  be  in  soon  after  daylight,  and  I'm 
sorry,"  said  Nellie  Austerly.  "It  has  been  an  almost 
perfect  cruise  in  spite  of  the  bad  weather.  Don't  you 
wish  we  were  going  back  again,  instead  of  home, 
Anthea?" 

Jimmy  roused  himself  to  attention,  for  he  would  very 
much  have  liked  to  hear  Miss  Merril's  real  thoughts  on 
the  matter ;  but  she  laughed. 

"I  don't  think  it  would  be  very  much  use  if  I  did," 

97 


98  THRICE    ARMED 

she  said.  "One  can't  go  sailing  always — and  if  you 
feel  that  that  is  a  pity,  you  can  think  of  the  rain  and 
the  wind." 

"Ah!"  said  Nellie  Austerly,  "one  has  to  bear  so 
much  of  them  everywhere.  Sometimes  one  wonders 
whether  life  is  all  gray  days  and  rain ;  but  this  trip  has 
made  me  better,  and,  perhaps,  if  Mr.  Valentine  will  take 
us,  we  will  go  back  next  year  and  revel  once  more  in  the 
sea  and  the  sunshine — we  really  had  a  good  deal  of  the 
latter." 

Jimmy  saw  his  comrade  make  a  little  abrupt  move- 
ment, and  guessed  what  he  was  thinking,  for  he  too 
realized  that  before  another  year  Nellie  Austerly  would 
in  all  probability  have  slipped  away  from  the  sad  gray 
weather  to  the  shores  of  the  glassy  sea  where  there  is 
eternal  radiance. 

Then  Austerly  looked  around,  and  his  observation  was 
very  matter-of-fact,  as  usual. 

"If  circumstances  are  propitious,  I  should  be  glad  to 
arrange  it,"  he  said.  "I  certainly  think  Mr.  Valentine 
has  done  everything  he  could  for  us.  Indeed,  we  owe 
it  largely  to  him  that  this  has  been  such  a  pleasant 
trip." 

He  appeared  to  expect  some  expression  of  approval, 
and  Anthea  laughed.  "Of  course.  It's  only  unfortu- 
nate he  couldn't  arrange  the  weather." 

"I  wonder,"  said  Nellie  reflectively,  "why  you  both 
leave  Jimmy  out?" 

There  was  a  certain  suggestiveness  in  the  girl's  tone 
which  Jimmy  noticed,  though  he  did  not  think  her 
father  did,  and  he  wished  it  had  been  light  enough  to 
see  Anthea  Merril's  face ;  but  unfortunately  it  was  not. 


MERRIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW      99 

She  appeared  to  disregard  the  question,  and  glanced  in 
Valentine's  direction. 

"Couldn't  we  have  the  big  spinnaker  up?"  she  asked. 

Valentine  hesitated  a  little.  The  breeze  was  moder- 
ately fresh  and  the  Sorata  traveling  fast  enough,  while 
it  is  not  a  very  easy  thing  to  steer  a  craft  running  under 
the  great  three-cornered  sail,  which  is  apt  to  swing  over 
in  case  of  a  blunder  at  the  tiller. 

"You  could  hold  her  steady  before  the  wind?"  he 
asked. 

"If  I  don't,  I  will  make  my  father  buy  you  a  new 
mast,"  said  Anthea. 

Valentine  made  a  little  gesture  which  was  expressive 
of  resignation.  It  was,  he  had  discovered,  singularly 
hard  to  say  no  to  Anthea  Merril ;  but  it  seemed  to  him 
that  the  new  mast  might  be  needed  if  she  ventured  too 
far  now.  He  and  Jimmy  between  them  got  the  great 
sail  up  and  its  boom  run  out,  though  it  cost  them  an 
effort;  and  then  Jimmy  glanced  aft  with  more  than  a 
trace  of  uneasiness  at  the  white  figure  at  the  helm.  The 
Sorata  had  now  on  each  side  of  her  a  swelling  mass  of 
canvas  that  dwarfed  the  narrow  strip  of  hull,  and  she 
swung  each  of  them  high  in  turn  as  she  rolled  viciously. 
Still,  as  far  as  Jimmy  could  see,  the  girl  stood  very  com- 
posedly at  the  tiller.  Then,  as  the  great  mainboom  went 
up  high  above  the  sea,  Valentine  signed  to  him. 

"You  had  better  get  out  and  steady  it,"  he  said. 
"It  wouldn't  need  much  to  bring  that  boom  over." 

Jimmy  crawled  out  on  the  slippery  spar,  and  sat 
astride  near  the  end  of  it,  while  Valentine  made  his  way 
along  the  one  beneath  the  spinnaker.  Their  weight 
checked  the  lifting  of  the  sails  in  some  degree,  but  for 


100  THRICE    ARMED 

the  first  few  minutes  it  seemed  to  Jimmy  that  they  and 
their  companions  were  hazarding  a  good  deal.  If  the 
girl  at  the  helm  let  the  tiller  swing  a  hand's-breadth  too 
much  when  the  Sorata,  piling  the  froth  about  her, 
rushed  up  a  dim  slope  of  water,  either  mainsail  or  spin- 
naker would  swing  over,  and  the  men  on  the  booms  would 
have  no  opportunity  for  attempting  to  obviate  the  un- 
pleasantness that  would  certainly  succeed  it.  In  all 
probability  they  would  be  flung  off  headlong  into  the 
sea.  Still,  the  sail  did  not  come  over,  for  the  Sorata 
drove  along  straight  before  the  wind,  and  once  more 
Jimmy  paid  silent  homage  to  the  girl  at  the  tiller. 

He  could  see  her  only  dimly,  a  blurred  white  shape 
against  the  dusky  sea,  but  he  could  imagine  the  little 
glow  in  her  eyes  and  the  way  in  which  her  lips  were 
pressed  together.  He  had  seen  her  look  that  way  when 
she  sat  beside  him  in  the  cockpit  one  wild  morning  as 
the  Sorata  plunged  over  the  great  Pacific  combers,  and 
it  seemed  to  him  that  she  was  one  who  would  face  diffi- 
culties and  perils  of  any  kind  as  unwaveringly.  Indeed, 
he  was  angry  with  himself  for  having  fancied  there  was 
any  hazard  at  all  in  leaving  her  to  steer  the  Sorata 
under  spinnaker,  for  he  felt  that  Anthea  Merril  must 
necessarily  be  capable  of  carrying  out  anything  she 
had  undertaken. 

So  he  swung  contentedly  with  the  lifting  boom,  now 
hove  high  above  the  dark  water,  now  dropped  down 
until  his  feet  were  almost  in  the  streaming  froth,  while 
shadowy  islets  clothed  with  pines  sprang  out  of  the  sea 
ahead,  grew  into  solid  blurs  of  blackness,  and  flitted 
by,  until  at  last  Austerly  said  that  his  daughter  must 
go  below.  Then  Valentine  and  Jimmy  came  in  along 


MERKIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW  101 

the  booms,  stowed  the  spinnaker  with  some  difficulty, 
and  dropped  the  topsail  too,  for  the  dim  mainland  shore 
was  black  ahead  when  the  rest  left  the  deck  to  them. 

"That  girl  has  quite  excellent  nerves,"  said  Valentine. 
"Still,  what  I  like  about  her  is  that  she  doesn't  think 
it  necessary  to  impress  it  on  you.  Her  husband  won't 
have  much  to  complain  of  if  she  ever  marries  anybody, 
though  I'm  not  sure  that's  certain." 

"Not  certain?"  said  Jimmy. 

"No,"  replied  Valentine  reflectively.  "A  girl  of  her 
kind  is  apt  to  be  particular.  The  man  who  pleases  her 
would  have  to  be  quite  straight,  and  it's  scarcely  likely 
he'd  go  to  leeward  either.'"' 

Jimmy  fancied  that  his  comrade  was  right,  though  he 
said  nothing,  for  after  all  it  was,  as  he  compelled  him- 
self to  admit,  no  concern  of  his.  However,  he  sighed  a 
little  as  he  went  down  and  crawled  into  his  cot,  leaving 
Valentine  to  feel  his  way  along  the  dusky  shore. 

It  was  early  next  morning  when  they  rowed  Austerly 
and  his  two  companions  ashore,  and  the  man  shook 
hands  with  them  on  the  wharf. 

"I  feel  that  I  am  indebted  to  both  of  you,"  he  said 
with  somewhat  unusual  diffidence.  "In  fact,  I  can't 
exactly  consider  that  the  attention  you  have  shown 
my  daughter  is  no  more  than  one  would  expect — from 
the  charter." 

He  seemed  to  feel  that  he  was  becoming  involved, 
and  went  on  abruptly.  "She  desires  me  to  say  that  it 
would  be  a  pleasure  should  either  of  you  care  to  call 
at  any  time." 

Jimmy  left  him  to  Valentine,  and,  when  the  latter  had 


102  THRICE    ARMED 

handed  Miss  Austerly  into  the  waiting  vehicle,  saw  that 
Anthea  Merril  was  looking  at  him. 

"If  you  don't  mind  my  saying  so,  I  think  that  was 
rather  good  of  Austerly,"  she  said.  "You  probably 
know  his  point  of  view,  and  I  daresay  it  cost  him  an 
effort.  I  think  your  comrade  should  go.  Nellie  finds 
him  amusing,  and  there  is  naturally  not  very  much  in 
her  life  that  pleases  her." 

She  stopped  with  a  little  soft  laugh.  "Mr.  Wheelock 
— isn't  it?  I  haven't  the  least  difficulty  in  saying  as 
much  as  Austerly  did.  Any  time  you  or  Mr.  Valen- 
tine care  to  call  I  should  be  glad  to  receive  you.  Our 
house  is  always  open,  and  anybody  will  tell  you  where 
it  is." 

Jimmy  once  more  remembered  that  he  had  on  a  pair 
of  burst  canvas  shoes,  as  well  as  old  duck  trousers 
cobbled  with  sail  twine,  and  a  man-o'-war  cap  that  had 
grown  shapeless  with  the  rain.  He  also  realized  that 
his  companion  was  quite  aware  of  it  too. 

"I'm  afraid  it  wouldn't  be  a  very  appropriate  thing 
if  I  did,"  he  said. 

Anthea  looked  at  him  steadily.  "Pshaw!"  she  said. 
"Still,  you  really  can't  expect  me  to  urge  you." 

Perhaps  it  was  a  slight  relief  to  both  of  them  that 
Valentine  signed  to  Jimmy  just  then.  "They  want  this 
box,"  he  said.  "The  rest  of  the  things  are  to  wait  for 
the  express  wagon." 

Jimmy,  who  turned  away,  heaved  the  box  into  the 
vehicle,  and  did  not  see  the  curious  little  smile  in  Anthea 
Merril's  eyes.  In  a  few  minutes  she  had  driven  away, 
and,  he  fancied,  had  passed  out  of  his  life  altogether. 
He  stood  still  on  the  wharf  and  sighed. 


MERRIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW    103 

"Well,"  said  Valentine,  "where  are  you  going  now?" 

"Straight  back  to  the  schooner,"  said  Jimmy.  "I 
see  her  lying  outside  the  steamboat  yonder.  You  might 
bring  my  things  across  when  you  have  straightened 
up  the  boat." 

Valentine  promised  to  do  so,  and  Jimmy,  who  strode 
away,  met  Jordan,  whom  he  had  not  expected  to  see 
there,  on  the  water-front. 

"What  are  you  doing  in  Vancouver?"  he  asked. 

"Looking  after  my  patent  rights — among  other 
things,"  said  Jordan.  "The  mill's  shut  down  for  two 
or  three  weeks  anyway.  Between  the  stone  in  the  water 
and  the  new  detergent  the  directors  insisted  on  my 
using,  the  boiler  has  'most  turned  herself  inside  out. 
Our  people  have  their  office  here,  as  you  know,  and  my 
agreement  with  them  only  stands  for  another  month, 
while  it  seems  that  Merril  has  been  buying  up  their 
stock.  I'm  not  sure  his  notions  are  going  to  suit  me. 
You  heard  we  had  to  break  off  your  father's  contract?" 

"I  hadn't,  though  I  was  afraid  it  would  happen," 
said  Jimmy,  whose  face  grew  a  trifle  grim.  "That  was 
Merril's  doing?" 

"It  was.  I  couldn't  help  the  thing.  But  we  can't 
talk  here ;  won't  you  come  along  to  my  hotel?" 

Jimmy  glanced  at  his  garments,  and  Jordan  grinned. 
"Those  things  don't  count  for  so  much  here,"  he  said. 
"Anyway,  there  was  a  time  when  I  tramped  into  the 
wooden  cities  along  Puget  Sound  looking  way  more  like 
a  dead-beat  than  you  do  now.  Still,  if  that's  going  to 
worry  you,  can't  you  get  a  boat  and  take  me  for  a 
sail?"  " 

Jimmy  was  sorry  that  it  was  out  of  the  question. 


104  THRICE    ARMED 

He  had  spent  only  a  few  evenings  with  Jordan  at  the 
mill,  but  he  liked  the  man,  and  was  vaguely  sensible  that 
Jordan  liked  him. 

"Valentine  and  I  have  just  run  in,  and  I  must  see 
how  the  old  man  is  getting  along,"  he  said.  "After 
that  I  fancy  I  ought  to  go  over  to  a  ranch  on  the  West- 
minster road,  and  look  up  my  sister.  I  haven't  seen 
her  since  I  came  home." 

"Well,"  said  Jordan,  "I've  nothing  on  hand  until 
to-morrow.  What's  the  matter  with  taking  me?  I'll 
hire  a  team  somewhere  and  drive  you.  I  can  drop  you 
at  the  ranch,  and  go  on  to  Westminster." 

They  arranged  it  during  the  next  few  minutes,  and 
then  Jimmy  was  rowed  off'  to  the  Tyee.  Prescott  met 
him  as  he  climbed  on  board,  and  a  glance  at  his  face 
showed  Jimmy  that  things  had  not  been  going  well. 

"You  will  be  wanted,"  he  said.  "Your  father  has 
been  getting  very  shaky  since  you  went  away,  and  I 
don't  quite  see  how  he's  to  hold  on  to  the  schooner,  now 
that  he  has  lost  that  lumber  contract  and  has  to  face 
the  carpenter's  bill.  Guess  he's  worrying  over  it. 
Hasn't  got  up  the  last  three  days,  and  the  doctor  don't 
seem  to  know  what  is  wrong  with  him." 

Jimmy  went  down  into  the  little  stern  cabin  with  a 
sinking  heart,  and  found  Tom  Wheelock  lying  propped 
up  in  his  berth.  He  looked  very  old  and  haggard,  and 
the  perspiration  stood  beaded  on  hi?  face,  in  which  pale 
patches  showed  through  the  bronze. 

"Glad  you've  got  back,  boy,"  hn  said.  "You'll  have 
to  take  hold  soon — that  is,  if  there's  anything  left  to 
get  a  grip  on.  The  old  man's  played  out." 

This,  it  seemed  to  Jimmy,  was  painfully  evident,  and. 


MERRIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW    105 

though  he  contrived  to  hide  it,  a  sense  of  dismay  crept 
over  him  as  he  sat  down.  Tom  Wheelock  looked  played 
out,  and  though  his  son  was  ready  to  take  up  his  bur- 
den, he  felt  it  would  be  heavy.  He  realized  that  through 
the  compassion  he  felt,  and  then  a  sudden  fit  of  anger 
against  the  man  who  had  crushed  his  father  came  over 
him.  The  color  darkened  a  trifle  in  his  face,  but  he 
put  a  restraint  upon  himself. 

"You'll  be  about  again  in  a  day  or  two,"  he  said 
cheerily.  "Now,  tell  me  all  about  it.  But  first  of  all, 
what  is  the  matter  with  you?" 

The  old  man  looked  at  him  with  a  curious  little 
smile.  "The  doctor  Bob  brought  off  didn't  quite  seem 
to  know,  but  I  could  have  told  him.  Guess  I'm  done, 
boy.  It's  quite  likely  I'll  crawl  out  on  deck  for  a  little 
while,  but  how's  that  going  to  count?  Nobody's  going 
to  have  any  more  use  for  your  father,  Jimmy,  and 
when  the  month  is  up  Merril  will  take  the  schooner 
from  him." 

Jimmy  clenched  a  big  brown  fist,  but  his  voice  was 
very  quiet.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I  want  to  understand 
what  has  happened  since  I  went  away." 

Wheelock  reached  out  for  the  pipe  that  lay  near  him, 
and  fumbled  with  it,  spilling  the  tobacco  with  shaky 
fingers,  until  Jimmy  quietly  took  it  from  him,  and 
struck  a  match  as  he  handed  it  back  to  him.  The  old 
man  raised  himself  a  trifle  as  he  lighted  it,  and  then 
laid  a  trembling  hand  on  his  son's  arm. 

"I  guess  I've  worked  as  hard  as  most  other  men,  but 
somehow  I  don't  seem  to  have  gone  to  windward  as  the 
rest  did,"  he  said.  "Perhaps  I  was  too  easy  with  the 
money,  and  a  little  slack  in  other  ways.  Still,  your 


106  THRICE    ARMED 

blood's  red,  Jimmy,  and  there's  a  streak  of  hard  sand 
in  you.  You  got  it  from  your  mother ;  it  was  she  who 
made  me.  Hard  work  don't  count,  boy.  You  want  to 
get  your  elbows  into  the  other  people  who're  standing 
in  your  way.  Well,  I'm  glad  there's  that  streak  of  grit 
in  you.  You'll  get  those  fingers  on  the  throat  of  the 
man  who  brought  your  father  down,  and  gripe  the  life 
out  of  him,  some  day." 

He  broke  off  abruptly,  and  fumbled  with  his  pipe, 
which  had  gone  out  again.  "Let  that  go ;  it's  fool  talk, 
Jimmy.  What  do  I  want  putting  my  trouble  on  to  you? 
Guess  you'll  have  plenty  of  your  own,  boy." 

"I  think  I  asked  you  to  tell  me  what  Merril  had 
done,"  said  Jimmy. 

"Kept  us  here  under  repairs  while  the  lumber  was 
piling  up  on  the  sawmill  wharf.  I  'most  guess  he'd 
fixed  the  thing  with  the  boss  carpenter.  I  was  to  bring 
all  that  the  people  at  the  Inlet  cut  for  Victoria  or 
Vancouver  down  fast  as  it  was  ready,  or  they  were  to 
let  up  on  the  contract;  but  Jordan  would  have  made 
things  easy  if  Merril  hadn't  bought  their  stock  and  put 
the  screw  on  hard." 

"It  wouldn't  be  worth  his  while  to  buy  the  stock  for 
that." 

"The  thing's  quite  plain.  He's  playing  a  bigger 
game.  Wants  control  of  all  that's  going  on  along  that 
coast,  and  its  carrying.  Guess  I  can't  stop  his  getting 
the  Tyce,  and  she's  the  second  boat  he  has  taken  from 
me.  Well,  I  may  get  a  freight  of  ore  in  a  week  or  two, 
and,  it's  quite  likely,  a  load  from  a  cannery — go  up 
light — freight  one  way.  How's  that  going  to  count, 


MEJIRIL  TIGHTENS  THE  SCREW    107 

though,  when  there's  the  carpenter's  bill  to  meet,  and  a 
big  instalment  on  the  bond  with  interest  due?" 

"How  much?"  Jimmy  asked,  harshly. 

He  sat  silent  a  while,  with  a  hard,  set  face,  when  his 
father  told  him. 

"Then  he  must  have  the  vessel.  Still,  he'll  have  to 
sell  her  by  auction,"  he  said  by  and  by. 

"That  won't  count.  When  I've  nobody  to  run  the 
price  up  against  him,  it's  quite  easy  for  a  man  like 
Merril  to  fix  the  thing.  He'll  get  one  of  his  friends  to 
buy  her  in  at  'bout  half  her  value,  and  the  bond  don't 
quite  call  for  that.  It  isn't  everybody  wants  a  vessel, 
and  the  few  men  who  do  fix  these  things  between  them." 

Jimmy  set  his  lips,  and  once  more  there  was  silence 
for  a  while.  Then  he  looked  up  with  a  little  abrupt 
movement.  "There's  a  question  in  front  of  us  to  be 
faced — and  I'm  going  to  find  the  answer ;  but  we  won't 
talk  any  more  about  it  now.  I'm  going  over  with 
Jordan  this  afternoon  to  see  Eleanor.  You  can  get 
along  until  to-night  without  me?" 

Wheelock  made  a  sign  of  concurrence.  "I  guess  it's 
a  thing  you  ought  to  do.  Got  a  letter  from  her  yester- 
day, and  she  was  asking  about  you.  Eleanor's  like 
you.  Take  after  your  mother,  both  of  you,  and,  if 
anything,  the  harder  grit's  in  her.  You  have  to  re- 
member, Jimmy,  you  can't  afford  to  show  a  soft  spot 
when  you're  fighting  a  man  like  Merril." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  with  a  sigh.  "Guess  he  is 
too  hard  for  your  father.  Won't  you  light  me  this 
pipe  again?  My  hand's  shaky." 


CHAPTER  X 

ELEANOR  WHEELOCK 

JORDAN  was  driving  a  spirited  team  along  the 
water-front  when  Jimmy  came  up  from  the 
wharf,  and  he  smiled  when  the  latter  swung  him- 
self up  into  the  light,  four-wheeled  vehicle.  Jimmy  was 
dressed  tastefully  in  his  English  shore-going  clothes, 
and  now  looked  very  much  unlike  a  yacht-hand.  He 
was  well  endued  physically,  and,  though  the  bronze  in 
his  face  and  a  certain  steadiness  of  gaze  betrayed  his 
calling,  there  was  an  indefinite  but  unmistakable  stamp 
upon  him  which  he  had  acquired  on  board  the  big 
mail-boats,  and  perhaps  also  in  a  greater  measure  from 
his  comrades  on  the  battleship.  Jimmy  had  certainly 
not  cultivated  it,  and  was,  in  fact,  not  aware  that  he 
possessed  it,  but  his  companion  had  already  recognized 
it. 

"Take  a  cigar,  and  light  it  before  I  let  the  team  out. 
They  look  as  if  they  could  go,"  he  said. 

Jimmy  did  so,  and  then  found  it  somewhat  difficult 
to  keep  his  seat  as  his  comrade  sent  the  horses  through 
the  city  as  fast  as  they  could  lay  hoof  to  the  ground, 
and  out  of  it  past  the  clustering  wooden  hovels  in  its 
less  reputable  quarter,  and  up  the  slope  that  led  into 
the  shadowy  bush.  Roads  are  not  remarkable  for  their 

108 


ELEANOR   WHEELOCK  109 

smoothness  anywhere  in  that  country,  but  it  was  evi- 
dent that  Jordan  liked  fast  traveling  and  could  handle 
a  team.  He  laughed  when  Jimmy  said  so. 

"I  come  of  farmer  stock,  and  that's  probably  why  I 
always  had  a  notion  of  the  sea,"  he  said.  "If  you  look 
at  it  in  one  way,  the  thing's  quite  natural." 

"I  suppose  it  is,"  said  Jimmy.  "Why  didn't  you  go 
to  sea?" 

"It  seemed  to  me  one  has  mighty  few  chances  of 
picking  up  money  there,  though  I  found  out  quite  early 
that  the  poor  man  has  no  great  show  anywhere.  It  was 
a  mortgage  he  couldn't  pay  off  that  broke  up  my 
father." 

He  stopped  for  a  moment,  with  a  little  confidential 
gesture.  "I  guess  that's  why  I  wanted  to  do  what  I 
could  for  your  father.  In  one  or  two  ways  he's  very 
much  like  the  man  I  buried  back  in  Washington.  He 
was  straight — and  it  wasn't  his  fault  if  he  didn't  whale 
all  the  meanness  out  of  me — but,  when  smartness  means 
getting  your  grip  on  what  belongs  to  somebody  else, 
he  was  just  a  trifle  slow.  He  worked  hard,  and  gave 
every  man  a  hundred  cents'  worth  for  his  dollar — and 
that's  quite  likely  why  there  was  mighty  little  but  a 
mortgage  on  the  ranch  when  he  died." 

Jimmy  was  not  astonished,  in  view  of  their  short 
acquaintance,  that  his  companion  should  tell  him  this. 
He  was  aware  that  reticence  is  not  a  prominent  charac- 
teristic of  the  men  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  and,  besides 
this,  there  was  a  rapidly  growing  sympathy  between 
himself  and  Jordan.  Still,  he  sat  silent,  and  his  com- 
panion spoke  again. 

'*!  was  about  sixteen  then,  and  I  saw  I  had  to  make 


110  THRICE    ARMED 

out  differently,"  he  said.  "Well,  somehow  I've  done  it — 
looked  on  this  life  as  a  battle  where  the  hurt  man  gets 
no  mercy,  and  I've  cleared  quite  a  little  money  on  my 
royalties — but  now  and  then  the  memory  of  those  old 
days  on  the  ranch  comes  back  to  me.  Then  I  feel  that 
if  ever  it's  necessary  for  me  to  get  my  knife  into  any 
kind  of  mortgage  man,  it  will  be  red  right  to  the  hilt 
when  it  comes  out  again." 

The  snap  in  his  companion's  dark  eyes  and  the 
hardening  of  his  lips  were  comprehensible  to  Jimmy, 
for  he  had  once  or  twice  been  sensible  of  much  the  same 
feeling.  Jordan  had,  as  is  usual  in  the  land  to  which 
he  belonged,  expressed  himself  frankly,  and  perhaps  a 
trifle  crudely;  but  Jimmy  recognized  that  it  was  with 
very  genuine  tenderness  and  regret  he  remembered  the 
man  he  had  buried  long  ago  in  Washington.  He  asked 
an  abrupt  question,  which  did  not,  however,  altogether 
change  the  subject. 

"Will  you  be  here  any  time?"  he  said. 

"I  don't  quite  know.  There's  no  reason  I  shouldn't 
tell  you  what  I  can,  and  I  feel  like  talking  now.  I'm 
quite  pleased  to  run  that  mill  up  the  Inlet  for  our  peo- 
ple, that  is,  while  they  leave  me  to  fix  things  as  I  like 
them;  but  as  I  told  you,  Merril  has  been  getting  his 
grip  on  the  stock  lately,  and  his  views  about  the  royal- 
ties on  my  patents  don't  quite  coincide  with  mine.  I've 
a  couple  of  other  notions  that  will  save  labor  which  our 
company  has  not  bought  up,  and  it's  quite  likely  I'll 
turn  them  over  to  the  Hastings  people.  In  the  mean- 
while I'm  not  going  to  rush  things,  and  it's  probable 
I'll  hang  on  until  we've  had  the  stockholders'  meet- 
ing." 


ELEANOR    WHEELOCK  111 

"Then  it's  Merril  who  is  standing  in  your  way?" 

Jordan  smiled  dryly.  "Now  you  understand  the 
thing.  Seems  to  me  neither  of  us  has  any  great  reason 
to  like  that  man." 

Nothing  more  was  said  on  that  point,  and  by  and  by 
they  left  the  scented  shadow  of  the  pines,  and  clattered 
across  a  wooden  bridge  which  spanned  the  turbid,  green 
Fraser,  into  a  stretch  of  sunlit  meadows  and  oatfields 
formed  by  the  silt  the  great  river  had  brought  down. 
In  due  time  they  reached  a  wooden  ranch  flanked  by 
shadowy  bush,  and  Jordan,  pulling  the  team  up  before 
it,  glanced  down  the  long  white  road  that  leads  to  New 
Westminster,  a  few  miles  away. 

"I  guess  I'll  go  on  to  town,  and  come  back  for  you," 
he  said.  "Still,  you  had  better  make  sure  you're  at  the 
right  place  first." 

Jimmy  got  down,  and  a  man  who  had  apparently 
heard  the  beat  of  hoofs,  commenced  to  throw  down  the 
split  slip-rails  which  in  Western  Canada  usually  serve 
as  gates. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  when  Jimmy  spoke  to  him,  "this  is 
Forster's  ranch.  In  fact,  that  is  my  name." 

He  was  dressed  in  the  bush-rancher's  jean,  but  he  had 
a  pleasant  face  with  a  certain  hint  of  refinement  in  it, 
and  smiled  when  Jimmy  told  him  who  he  was. 

"Miss  Wheelock's  brother?  Come  right  in  and  put 
your  team  up,"  he  said.  "It's  not  more  than  an  hour 
or  so  until  supper.  Your  friend  will  come  with  you?" 

Supper  is  usually  served  at  six  o'clock  in  that  coun- 
try, and  in  no  way  differs  from  the  other  meals  of  the 
day;  while  nobody  acquainted  with  its  customs  would 
have  considered  it  an  unusual  thing  for  the  rancher  to 


THRICE    ARMED 

extend  the  invitation  to  Jimmy's  companion.  Jordan 
once  more  glanced  down  the  road  to  New  Westminster, 
and,  though  none  of  them  knew  it,  a  good  deal  was  to 
depend  on  the  fact  that  he  elected  to  stay. 

"Well,"  he  said,  turning  to  Jimmy,  "I  don't  want  to 
worry  you,  but  the  fact  is,  one  of  the  lumber  people 
yonder  has  been  writing  me  about  my  gang-saw  frame, 
and,  after  thinking  the  thing  out  last  night,  I'd  sooner 
hold  him  off  a  while.  I'd  have  to  call  on  the  man 
if  I  drove  into  town,  and,  after  all,  it  might  be  wiser 
to  keep  clear  of  him." 

"Then  you  had  better  get  down,"  said  Forster. 
"While  Miss  Wheelock  talks  to  her  brother  you  can 
walk  round  the  ranch  with  me.  I  don't  see  many 
strangers,  and  I'm  by  no  means  busy." 

Jordan  got  down,  and,  after  spending  an  hour  with 
Forster,  was  somewhat  astonished  when  he  was  pre- 
sented to  Miss  Wheelock  in  the  big  general  room  of  the 
ranch.  It  was  roughly  paneled  with  cedar,  very  simply 
furnished,  and  had,  as  usual,  an  uncovered  floor,  while 
the  sunlight  that  streamed  through  the  uncurtained 
window  fell  upon  the  girl.  She  stood  still  a  moment 
looking  at  him  when  she  had  acknowledged  his  greet- 
ing, and  for  once,  at  least,  the  sawmiller  felt  almost 
embarrassed,  for  Eleanor  Wheelock  possessed,  as  her 
brother  did  not,  a  somewhat  striking  personality. 

Jimmy  might  have  passed  for  a  quiet  Englishman; 
but  his  sister  was  typically  Western  in  everything  but 
speech — tall,  wiry,  and  a  trifle  straight  of  figure,  but 
with  something  that  was  almost  imperious  in  her  atti- 
tude. She  had  light  hair  like  Jimmy's,  but  there  was  a 
reddish  gleam  in  it,  and  her  eyes  which  had  a  glint  in 


ELEANOR   WHEELOCK  113 

them  were  of  a  paler  blue,  while  her  skin  was  of  a 
curious  colorless  purity.  Jordan  could  not  analyze  her 
features,  but  he  felt  that  she  was  beautiful,  and  there 
was  a  suggestion  of  vigor  about  her  that  further  at- 
tracted him.  One  would  scarcely  have  called  her  domi- 
neering, but  she  had  not,  as  her  brother  recognized,  the 
quiet  graciousness  and  composure  which  half-concealed 
Anthea  Merril's  strength  of  character.  Jordan,  how- 
ever, was  not  too  discriminating.  He  liked  vigor  in  any 
guise,  and  he  noticed  that  one  of  the  two  little  girls 
who  had  entered  with  her  clung  to  her  hand. 

"I  think  I  passed  you  twice  in  Vancouver  one  day  a 
month  or  two  ago,"  she  said. 

Jordan  made  her  a  little  inclination,  and  his  Western 
candor  was  free  alike  from  awkwardness  or  any  hint  of 
presumption. 

"Then  I  didn't  see  you.  If  I  had  done  so,  I  should 
certainly  have  remembered  it." 

Eleanor  laughed,  and  turned  to  the  others.  "It's 
ten  minutes  since  Jake  called  you.  Will  you  sit  here, 
Jimmy,  with  Mr.  Jordan  next  to  you?  Mrs.  Forster 
is  away  just  now." 

She  moved  to  the  head  of  the  table,  and  the  usual 
ranch  supper  of  pork,  potatoes,  flapjacks,  hot  cakes, 
desiccated  fruits,  and  green  tea  was  brought  in. 
Forster,  who  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  education,  made 
an  excellent  host,  but  it  was  Eleanor  and  Jordan  who 
led  most  of  the  conversation,  and  there  was  delicacy  as 
well  as  keenness  in  their  badinage.  Almost  an  hour  had 
passed  before  the  party  rose,  which  was  a  very  unusual 
thing  in  that  country,  for  the  Westerner  seldom  wastes 
much  time  over  his  meals.  Then,  as  it  happened,  it  was 


THRICE    ARMED 

Jimmy  who  walked  round  the  ranch  with  Forster,  while 
Jordan  sat  on  the  veranda  with  Eleanor  and  the  little 
girls  while  the  shadows  of  the  firs  crept  slowly  up  to  it 
They  talked  about  a  good  many  things,  while  each  felt 
that  they  were  just  skirting  a  confidence,  until  the  little 
girl  who  sat  next  to  Jordan  looked  up  at  him  gravely. 

"Why  don't  you  go  and  see  the  cows  with  father  and 
the  other  man?"  she  asked. 

Jordan  laughed,  but  he  looked  at  Eleanor.  "Well," 
he  said,  "for  one  thing,  I  guess  it's  a  good  deal  nicer 
here."  , 

Miss  Wheelock  met  his  glance  with  a  directness  which, 
had  his  disposition  and  training  been  different,  he  might 
have  found  disconcerting.  She  was,  like  himself,  abso- 
lutely devoid  of  affectation,  and  he  felt  that  she  was 
quietly  making  an  estimate  of  him.  Still,  there  was 
not  a  great  deal  in  his  character  that  he  had  occasion 
to  hide  from  any  one,  and  the  evident  sincerity  of  his 
observation  was  in  itself  an  excuse  for  it.  It  was  char- 
acteristic of  the  girl  that  she  let  it  pass,  not  with  the 
obvious  intention  of  ignoring  it  because  that  appeared 
advisable,  but  as  though  she  had  never  heard  it.  When 
a  thing  did  not  appeal  to  Eleanor  Wheelork,  she  simply 
brushed  it  aside. 

"Have  you  met  the  Miss  Merril  Jimmy  mentioned?" 
she  asked.  "I  almost  fancy  she  is  the  girl  I  used  to 
see  now  and  then  when  I  was  in  Toronto.  What  is  she 
like?" 

Jordan,  who  had  met  Anthea  Merril  in  Vancouver, 
told  her  as  well  as  he  was  able,  and  Eleanor's  lips  set  in 
a  straight  line. 


ELEANOR   WHEELOCK  115 

"One  could  fancy  you  were  not  fond  of  Miss  Merril," 
he  said. 

"I  have  never  spoken  to  her;  but  I  have  no  great 
reason  to  feel  well-disposed  toward  anybody  of  that 
family." 

"Ah!"  said  Jordan;  "that  means  Jimmy  has  told  you 
what  Merril  is  doing.  I'm  no  friend  of  that  man's 
either,  but  I'm  not  quite  sure  one  could  reasonably  hold 
the  girl  responsible  for  her  father." 

"Especially  when  she's  pretty?  Still,  she  is  his 
daughter,  and  must  be  like  him  in  some  respects." 

Jordan's  eyes  twinkled.  "Do  you  consider  yourself 
like  your  father?" 

Eleanor  flashed  a  swift  glance  at  him.  "You  are 
keener  than  I  expected.  In  reality  I  am  not  like  him 
in  the  least,  though  I  don't  know  why  I  should  trouble 
to  admit  it.  In  any  case,  I  think  the  rule  generally 
holds  good." 

She  dismissed  the  subject  abruptly,  with  a  laugh. 
"After  all,  our  affairs  can't  interest  you.  You  can't 
have  seen  very  much  of  my  brother." 

Jordan  appeared  to  consider  this.  "I'm  not  sure  that 
counts,"  he  said.  "I  seem  to  have  been  a  friend  of 
Jimmy's  quite  a  long  while.  There  are  people  who 
make  you  feel  that,  even  when  it  isn't  so,  although  they 
may  not  consciously  want  to.  One  can't  tell  how  they 
do  it — but  I  think  you  have  the  power  in  you." 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Eleanor.  "I  am,  however,  by  no 
means  certain  that  I  was  ever  very  anxious  to  make 
friends  with  anybody." 

"That's   comprehensible.      You   would    sooner   they 


116  THRICE    ARMED 

wanted  to  make  friends  with  you,  and  if  no  one  did,  you 
would  be  sufficient  for  yourself." 

Eleanor  looked  at  him  with  a  chilly  smile.  "You  have 
a  certain  penetration,  but  I  don't  know  that  there  is 
any  reason  why  I  should  confess  to  you.  How  do  you 
come  to  know  anything  about  Mr.  Merril?" 

Jordan,  who  appeared  to  have  no  doubt  as  to  her 
ability  to  understand  him,  in  which  he  was  warranted, 
told  her. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "suppose  this  man's  influence  is  too 
strong  for  you,  and  you  have  to  break  your  connection 
with  the  mill?" 

"There  are  two  or  three  other  things  I  could  turn  to." 

"One  would  suppose  as  much ;"  and  Jordan  took  it  as 
a  compliment,  which  perhaps  it  was,  especially  as  the 
girl  had  not  said  it  with  the  least  desire  to  gratify  him. 
"Still,  that  is  not  what  I  mean.  Would  you  try  to  find 
any  means  of  retaliating?" 

"If  he  afterward  got  in  my  way — that  is,  thrust  him- 
self between  me  and  something  I  wanted  to  do — I  would 
try  all  I  could  to  get  my  foot  on  him,  and  then  perhaps 
keep  it  there  a  little  longer  than  was  necessary." 

"You  would  go  no  further  ?" 

Jordan  knew  what  she  meant,  though  he  could  not 
grasp  her  purpose  in  pressing  the  point.  "It  wouldn't 
be  business  if  I  did.  When  a  man  starts  out  to  make 
money  he  can't  afford  to  load  himself  up  with  purely 
personal  grievances.  If  another  man  tries  to  get  the 
things  you  want  you  naturally  have  to  fight,  but  it's 
wiser  to  grin  and  bear  it  when  he's  too  smart  for  you. 
Still,  there  are  cases  when  the  feeling  that  you  would 


ELEANOR  WHEELOCK  117 

like  to  get  even  afterward  is  apt  to  be  'most  too  much 
for  human  nature." 

"And  in  some  respects  you  could  be  very  human?" 

Jordan  turned  to  her  with  the  twinkle  still  in  his  eyes. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "if  I  let  any  weakness  of  that  kind 
master  me  in  the  present  case,  I  should  be  very  much 
like  the  black-tail  deer  that  turned  around  on  the  man 
with  the  rifle.  Still,  one  can't  invariably  be  wise." 

His  manner  was  whimsical,  but  it  seemed  to  Eleanor 
there  was  something  behind  it,  for  when  he  broke  off  a 
faint  glint  which  she  understood  crept  into  his  eyes. 

"Sometimes  accidents  happen  to  the  man  with  the 
rifle,"  she  said.  "In  the  meanwhile,  I  rather  fancy 
Jimmy  is  making  signs  to  you." 

"Then,"  said  Jordan  gravely,  "I'm  not  sure  I'm  much 
obliged  to  him.  But  before  I  go  there's  something  I 
want  to  ask:  would  it  be  a  liberty  if  I  came  back  here 
with  him  some  day?" 

"You  would  like  to  come  ?" 

"Of  course.    Why  do  I  ask?" 

Eleanor  laughed.  "That  is  what  I  was  wondering. 
I  almost  think  a  man  likely  to  get  even  with  Mr.  Merril 
would  do  what  he  wanted.  Anyway,  you  know  the 
customs  of  the  country  as  well  as  I  do,  and  I  scarcely 
think  Forster  and  his  wife  would  mind." 

Jordan  rose,  and  kissed  the  child  he  picked  up  and 
held  high  in  his  arms.  "Well,"  he  said,  "since — Forster 
and  his  wife — wouldn't  mind,  I  shall  very  probably  come 
along  again  by  and  by." 

He  turned  and  went  down  the  veranda  stairway, 
while  the  little  girl  looked  at  her  companion  gravely. 


118  THRICE    ARMED 

"I  like  that  man.  He's  nice,"  she  said.  "You  like 
him  too,  don't  you?" 

Eleanor  was  beckoning  Jimmy,  but  the  child  went  on. 
"Well,"  she  said,  "he  thinks  you  nice,  I  know.  I  could 
tell  it  by  the  way  he  looked  at  you.  Perhaps  you  didn't 
see  him,  but  I  did." 

Eleanor  laughed,  for  she  had  naturally  noticed  every 
glance  Jordan  had  cast  in  her  direction,  and  had  under- 
stood it.  That,  however,  did  not  count  for  very  much 
with  her.  She  recognized  in  Jordan  something  that 
pleased  her,  and  she  had  a  vague  fancy  that  there  were 
things  he  might  be  able  to  do  for  Jimmy  and  her  father 
in  the  difficulties  she  foresaw.  There  was,  she  admitted 
reluctantly,  after  all,  a  good  deal  that  a  woman  could 
not  do ;  but  in  the  meanwhile  the  feeling  went  no  further. 
Then  while  Jordan  and  Forster  harnessed  the  team, 
Jimmy  joined  her. 

"You  will  have  to  stay  in  the  Province,  Jimmy.  You 
can't  go  back  to  sea,"  she  said.  "Your  father  will  need 
somebody  beside  him  now." 

Jimmy  only  smiled,  but  the  girl  made  a  little  gesture 
of  comprehension. 

"Oh,"  she  said,  "I  know  how  hard  it  is  for  you.  You 
will  have  to  give  up  your  career." 

"It  can't  be  helped,"  said  the  man  simply,  "and  I  may 
make  another  here." 

Eleanor  laid  her  hand  on  his  arm,  and  pressed  it. 
"I  knew  you  would  face  it  like  that.  There's  just  one 
other  thing.  Hold  on  to  that  man  Jordan;  I  think 
he  will  make  you  a  good  friend." 

"You  like  him?" 

"That,"  said  Eleanor,  "is  quite  another  matter.  Any- 


ELEANOR   WHEELOCK  119 

way,  he  is  a  man  who  could  be  depended  on — and  I 
think  he  could  be  firm  on  points  where  you  might  waver. 
You  are  a  little  too  good-natured,  Jimmy." 

Jordan  drove  his  team  up  before  they  had  said  much 
more,  and  Forster  shook  hands  with  Jimmy  as  he  stood 
beside  the  vehicle. 

"From  what  your  sister  has  told  us,  I  dare  say  you 
are  a  trifle  anxious  about — things  in  general — just 
now,"  he  said.  "If  it  is  any  relief  to  you,  I  would  like 
to  say  that  Mrs.  Forster  and  I  think  very  highly  of 
your  sister,  and  that  so  long  as  she  cares  to  stay  with 
us  we  should  be  very  glad  to  do  what  we  can  for  her." 

Jimmy  thanked  the  rancher,  and  swung  himself  up 
into  the  vehicle,  while  Jordan  turned  to  him  as  they 
drove  away. 

"They  think  very  highly  of  her!  They'd  be — 
idiots  if  they  didn't,"  he  said.  "Of  course,  I  don't 
know  if  that's  quite  the  kind  of  thing  you  appreciate 
from  me." 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  as  was  usual  with  him  when  he 
was  not  sure  what  he  felt,  but  Jordan  went  on. 

"I  never  expected  to  find  you  had  a  sister  like  that," 
he  said.  "She's  very  different  from  you  in  many  ways. 
One  feels  that's  a  girl  with  'most  enough  capacity  for 
anything." 

Jimmy  looked  at  him  with  a  whimsical  smile,  and 
Jordan  laughed. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "I  might  have  expressed  myself  dif- 
ferently. What  I  mean  is  that  you're  a  good  deal  more 
like  your  father  than  she  is." 

"Ah!"  said  Jimmy.  "Well,  perhaps  you're  right. 
In  fact,  the  same  thing  has  struck  me  occasionally." 


CHAPTER  XI 

AT  AUCTION 

JIMMY  went  back  to  the  ranch  beside  the  Fraser 
once,  but  Jordan  went  without  him  several  times, 
for  Forster  apparently  found  his  company  con- 
genial. It  happened  that  he  contrived  to  see  a  good 
deal  of  Eleanor  Wheelock  during  his  visits,  but  neither 
of  them  mentioned  this  to  Jimmy,  who,  indeed,  would 
probably  have  concerned  himself  little  about  it  had  he 
heard  of  it,  since  he  had  other  things  to  think  about  just 
then.  Merril  had  sent  his  father  a  formal  notice  that 
unless  the  money  due  should  be  paid  by  a  certain  time, 
the  schooner  would  be  sold  as  stipulated  in  the  bond, 
and,  though  Tom  Wheelock  had  expected  nothing  else, 
he  apparently  collapsed  altogether  under  the  final  blow. 

Jordan,  who  had  just  come  back  from  Forster's 
ranch,  arrived  on  board  the  Tyee  while  the  doctor  was 
talking  to  Jimmy,  and,  strolling  forward,  he  sat  down 
on  the  windlass  and  commenced  a  conversation  with 
Prescott,  with  whom  he  had  promptly  made  friends.  In 
the  meanwhile,  Jimmy  looked  at  the  doctor  a  trifle 
wearily  as  he  leaned  on  the  rail. 

"Perhaps  my  mind's  not  as  clear  as  usual  to-day, 
but  these  scientific  terms  don't  convey  very  much  to 
me,"  he  said. 

120 


AT   AUCTION 

"In  plain  English,  then,"  said  the  doctor,  "it  is  gen- 
eral break-down  your  father  is  suffering  from,  though 
it  is  intensified  by  a  partial  loss  of  control  over  the 
muscles  on  one  side  of  him.  The  latter  trouble  is,  per- 
haps, the  result  of  what  one  might  call  constitutional 
causes,  but,  as  you  seem  to  fancy,  worry  and  nervous 
strain,  or  a  shock  of  any  kind,  may  have  accelerated  it 
or  brought  about  the  climax." 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy  hoarsely,  "the  cure?" 

The  doctor's  tone  was  sympathetic.  "To  be  quite 
frank,  there  is  none.  It  is  possible,  even  probable, 
that  he  may  recover  sufficiently  to  hobble  about  a  little, 
but  he  will  never  be  fit  for  any  active  occupation  again." 

"Ah!"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  little  indrawing  of  his 
breath.  "Still,  it  is  only  what  I  expected,  and  I  sup- 
pose I  must  face  it.  You  are  quite  sure  about  that 
shock?" 

The  doctor  looked  at  him  curiously.  "I  want  you  to 
understand  that  it  probably  brought  about  the  climax, 
though  such  things  don't  often  happen  in  the  case  of  a 
vigorous  man.  Your  father  has,  I  should  fancy,  in 
ordinary  language,  been  losing  his  grip  for  several 
years.  In  his  case  the  natural  decline  of  physical 
strength  has,  perhaps,  been  accelerated  by  undue 
anxiety,  and " 

He  hesitated,  and  Jimmy  made  a  quick  sign  of  com- 
prehension. "Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "I  know.  Still,  I'm 
not  sure  that  anybody  could  blame  him,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. Well,  I  think  the  thing  that  brought 
about  the  climax  has  been  steadily  preparing  him  to 
break  down  under  it;  but,  after  all,  that  does  not 
concern  you." 


12S  THRICE    ARMED 

The  doctor,  who  admitted  this,  gave  him  certain 
directions  before  he  went  away,  and  Jimmy  descended 
to  the  little  cabin  where  Tom  Wheelock  lay.  He  looked 
up  and  nodded  when  his  son  came  in. 

"Well,"  he  said,  with  a  faint  smile,  "I  guess  by  the 
names  that  doctor  calls  it,  I've  got  enough  to  kill  any 
man.  Wouldn't  talk  quite  straight,  but  I  know  as  well 
as  he  does  that  I'm  not  going  to  worry  you  very  long, 
and  that's  just  as  it  should  be.  Merril  takes  the 
schooner,  and  you'll  go  back  to  the  blue  water.  I  was 
never  good  for  very  much,  anyway,  after  your  mother 
had  gone.  She  stood  behind  me  and  kept  things 
going." 

Jimmy  sat  down,  and,  much  as  he  desired  it,  could 
think  of  nothing  apposite  to  say.  He  felt  that  there 
are  occasions  on  which  one  should  speak  clearly,  but, 
as  not  infrequently  happens,  it  was  just  then  that  he 
was  usually  dumb.  Perhaps  Tom  Wheelock  understood 
this,  for  once  more  he  smiled  as  he  looked  at  him. 

"I  wouldn't  worry  about  it,  Jimmy,"  he  said. 

Jimmy  was  still  tongue-tied,  but  one  result  of  his 
father's  observations  was  that  fierce  anger  commenced 
to  mingle  with  his  distress,  and  he  felt  his  nature  stir  in 
protest.  Merril  would  take  the  Tyee — that  could  not  be 
helped — but  it  seemed  an  insufferable  thing  that  for 
the  paltry  value  of  the  schooner  he  should  have  crushed 
this  frail  and  broken  man.  Jimmy  clenched  a  firm 
brown  hand,  and  felt  his  fingers  itch  for  a  grip  on  the 
bondholder's  throat. 

There  was  silence  for  a  while,  intensified  by  the  soft 
splash  of  ripples  against  the  Tyee's  planking,  and 
Jimmy  afterward  remembered  how  his  father's  worn 


AT  AUCTION  1«3 

face  showed  up  in  the  stream  of  light  that  shone  down 
through  the  skylights  into  the  shadowy  cabin.  He  lay 
wrapped  in  old  and  dirty  blankets,  a  worn-out  and 
broken  man  who  stood  in  the  way  of  one  who  was 
stronger.  He  held  an  unlighted  pipe  in  his  limp  and 
nerveless  hand,  and  the  cabin  reeked  with  unsavory 
odors.  It  was  unclean  and  wholly  comfortless,  and  it 
seemed  to  Jimmy,  who  was  fresh  from  the  luxury  of  the 
mail-boats,  almost  horrible  that  the  man  to  whom  he 
owed  his  being  should  lie  there  in  sordid  misery.  At 
last  he  straightened  himself  resolutely. 

"There  are  several  points  to  consider,"  he  said.  "The 
schooner  will  be  sold — that's  certain — ;and  I  must  find  a 
room  for  you  ashore.  It's  fortunate  that  one  difficulty 
can  be  got  over.  Men  who  can  work  seem  to  be  in 
demand  here  just  now,  and  when  Merril  sells  the  Tyee 
there  ought  to  be  a  few  dollars  over." 

"There  might  be  if  we  had  anybody  to  bid  against 
him  and  run  the  figure  up,  but  we  haven't.  Anyway, 
Bob  and  I  have  been  talking  things  over  this  morning. 
He  has  had  'most  enough  of  the  sea,  and  one  of  the 
C.P.R.  men  will  put  him  on  a  soft  thing  on  the  wharf. 
Well,  we're  going  to  take  one  of  the  little  frame-houses 
just  back  of  the  town  between  us.  Not  quite  a  mansion, 
Jimmy,  but  there  are  four  rooms  in  it." 

Jimmy  felt  inclined  to  groan,  for  he  had  seen  the 
very  primitive  and  unattractive  dwellings  in  question, 
but  he  knew  that  rents  are  high  in  that  city  and  money 
somewhat  hard  to  earn  anywhere.  Still,  it  was  in  one 
way  a  relief  to  turn  the  conversation  in  this  direction, 
and  by  and  by  he  remembered  that  Jordan  was  awaiting 


124  THRICE    ARMED 

him  and  went  up  on  deck.  The  latter  sat  down  and 
pulled  out  his  cigar-case. 

"Take  one,  and  then  tell  me  what's  troubling  you," 
he  said.  "I'll  own  up  that  I  got  some  notion  out  of 
Prescott." 

Jimmy  found  it  a  relief  to  comply,  and  talked  for 
several  minutes  while  Jordan  listened  attentively. 

"You  have  got  to  stay  here,"  said  the  latter.  "That's 
a  sure  thing ;  but  there's  not  much  sense  in  your  notion 
of  track-grading  for  the  railroad  or  wharf-laboring. 
You  wait  a  week  or  two,  and  I  fancy  I  can  suggest 
something  by  then  that  will  suit  you." 

"I  don't  know  why  you  should  trouble  about  it,"  said 
Jimmy.  . 

"We'll  let  that  go ;"  and  Jordan  looked  at  him  with  a 
smile  in  his  keen  dark  eyes.  "Your  sister  and  I  have 
been  talking  about  you.  She  feels  that  you  ought  to 
stay  with  the  old  man,  too." 

It  did  not  occur  to  Jimmy  that  there  was  anything 
significant  in  this,  for  he  was  too  anxious  to  concern 
himself  about  anything  then  except  the  question  as  to 
how  he  was  to  secure  his  father's  comfort. 

"I've  been  thinking  about  the  auction,"  he  said. 

"So  have  I,"  said  Jordan.  "Now,  I'm  going  to  talk 
straight  to  you.  I've  invented  one  or  two  sawmill  fix- 
ings; and  they've  brought  me  in  some  money,  as  you 
know;  but  I  want  considerably  more,  and  I've  always 
had  a  notion  that  it  was  business  and  not  sawing  red- 
wood logs  I  was  meant  for.  Well,  Merril  wants  me  out 
of  that  mill,  and  it  seems  to  me  there's  room  for  a  big 
extension  of  the  coast-carrying  trade  of  this  country. 
That's  Merril's  notion  too.  I  once  thought  of  buying 


AT  AUCTION  125 

this  schooner — that  is,  wiping  out  your  father's  loan — 
and  putting  you  in  command  of  her.  Now,  don't  get 
hold  of  it  the  wrong  way — it  was  the  money  there  might 
be  in  it  I  was  after." 

He  smiled  as  he  saw  the  faint  flush  on  Jimmy's  face. 
"Then  I  fancied  there  might  be  more  in  steam,  and  that 
since  Merril  wants  the  Tyee,  I'd  let  him  have  her — at  a 
figure.  Anything  she  brings  over  and  above  the  bond 
goes  to  your  father.  Well,  I'll  put  on  a  broker  to  bid 
for  her  who  knows  his  business.  If  I  have  to  take  her 
I  guess  I  could  get  my  money  back  by  sailing  her,  and, 
anyway,  the  broker  will  run  Merril  up.  You  couldn't 
do  it,  because  you'd  be  asked  for  security  that  you  could 
put  up  the  money.  Now,  that's  about  all,  except  that  I 
want  you  not  to  take  hold  of  anything  that  may  be 
offered  you  until  the  auction's  over  and  you  have  had  a 
talk  with  me.  I've  got  to  go  back  to  the  mill  to-morrow 
for  a  week  or  two." 

"I  don't  want  to  be  ungracious,  but  there  is  no 
reason  why  you  should  burden  yourself  with  my  af- 
fairs." 

"No,"  said  Jordan  dryly,  "I  guess  there  isn't.  I'm 
out  for  money,  and  that's  why  I  figure  that  a  man  who 
knows  as  much  about  the  sea  as  you  do  might  be  of  some 
use  to  me.  You'll  promise,  anyway?" 

Jimmy  did  so,  and  felt  that  he  had  done  wisely  when 
his  comrade  went  away.  There  was,  after  all,  no  reason 
why  Jordan  should  not  befriend  him  if  he  wished  to, 
and  he  had  a  curious  confidence  in  the  man.  It  was, 
however,  two  or  three  weeks  later,  and  only  a  few  min- 
utes before  the  auction  which  was  to  be  held  in  a  room 
ashore,  when  he  saw  him  again.  He  did  not  know  that 


126  THRICE    ARMED 

Jordan,  who  had  arrived  in  the  city  two  days  ago,  had 
spent  most  of  one  of  them  at  Forster's  ranch.  Jimmy, 
who  had  promised  Tom  Wheelock  to  attend  the  sale,  was 
walking  up  and  down  the  street  waiting  for  the  time 
announced,  when  Jordan  strolled  up  to  him  with  a  cigar 
in  his  hand. 

"Had  to  come  down  to  see  our  people  here,"  he  said, 
which  was,  as  it  happened,  correct  enough.  "Went 
round  this  morning  and  saw  that  broker  man.  He's 
coming  along,  and  if  it  will  be  any  relief  to  you  I'll 
hand  you  on  his  bill.  Of  course,  I  could  have  made  my 
own  bid,  but  these  fellows  know  the  tricks  of  the  game, 
and  I'm  not  ready  yet  for  a  clean  break  with  Merril. 
Now,  we  might  as  well  walk  in." 

They  passed  through  part  of  a  big  stone  building 
into  a  large  room  where  a  group  of  city  men  were  talk- 
ing together,  for  there  were  timber  lands  and  ranching 
properties  to  be  sold  that  afternoon  as  well  as  the 
schooner.  It  was  very  hot,  and  Jimmy  found  the  wait- 
ing difficult  to  bear  as  he  listened  to  the  hum  of  voices 
and  glanced  at  his  watch,  until  at  last  the  auctioneer  sat 
down  at  a  raised  table.  He  hastily  read  out  particulars 
of  the  vessel  as  well  as  his  authority  to  sell  her,  and  then 
smiled  at  the  assembly. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "we'll  get  right  down  to  business. 
Most  of  you  have  seen  the  vessel,  the  rest  of  you  have 
heard  about  her,  and  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  make  me  a 
reasonable  bid.  There  is  no  reserve  on  her." 

Jimmy  felt  his  face  grow  a  trifle  hot  with  anger.  The 
Tyee  had  made  his  father's  living,  and,  since  anything 
she  might  bring  in  excess  of  the  loan  on  her  would  be- 
long to  him,  it  did  not  seem  fitting  that  she  should  be 


AT  AUCTION  187 

flung  in  this  casual  fashion  on  the  hands  of  palpably 
indifferent  purchasers.  The  result  of  that  sale  was  of 
vital  interest  to  him  and  Thomas  Wheelock,  and  he 
glanced  inquiringly  at  Jordan. 

"My  man  has  not  come,"  said  the  latter  tranquilly. 
"It's  a  game  he's  accustomed  to,  and  when  he's  wanted 
he'll  be  here.  That's  one  of  the  new  cannery  men  start- 
ing the  bidding.  Their  inlet's  a  difficult  place  to  make, 
and  the  steamboat  men  don't  care  about  calling  there 
except  for  big  loads.  It's  significant  that  he  should 
think  of  buying  her." 

Jimmy  did  not  understand  why  it  should  be  so,  but 
his  face  grew  hard  at  the  laughter  when  the  man  made 
a  nominal  bid.  There  was  silence  for  almost  a  minute, 
and  he  felt  a  little  thrill  of  dismay  run  through  him, 
for  if  the  Tyee  went  at  that  figure  it  would  leave  his 
father  still  heavily  in  debt. 

"The  anchors  and  cables  are  worth  more,"  said  the 
auctioneer.  "Is  there  nobody  willing  to  raise  him  fifty 
dollars?" 

One  of  the  men  nodded.  "I'll  go  that  far,"  he  said. 
"Still,  I  don't  know  where  I  could  get  it  back  for  her." 

Somebody  offered  ten  dollars  more,  another  man 
twenty,  and  there  was  languid  bidding  until  the  price 
had  almost  doubled;  but  then  it  stopped  for  a  few 
moments,  and  Jimmy  saw  his  companion  glance  some- 
what uneasily  toward  the  door. 

"I'm  beginning  to  wonder  what's  keeping  my  man," 
he  said. 

"If  he  doesn't  come  soon  he  might  as  well  stay  away 
altogether,"  said  Jimmy,  who  turned  in  tense  suspense 
and  watched  the  hot  faces  of  the  men  about  him. 


128  THRICE    ARMED 

The  price  then  offered  would  just  clear  the  debt,  but 
there  were  many  things  his  father  needed,  and  Jimmy 
had  then  only  a  few  dollars  in  his  pocket,  which  he  had 
earned  by  stacking  dressed  lumber  at  a  sawmill. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  auctioneer,  "I  don't  feel  war- 
ranted in  letting  her  go  at  the  figure.  She'd  bring  you 
half  as  much  again  to-morrow  if  you  sailed  her  over  to 
Victoria." 

"I'll  raise  it  ten  dollars,"  said  somebody,  and  the 
bidding  commenced  again  more  indifferently  than  ever. 
Five,  ten,  twenty  dollars  were  offered,  and  then  five 
again. 

Jordan  touched  Jimmy's  arm.  "That's  Merril's  man 
— I've  been  trying  to  spot  him — and  I  guess  the  can- 
nery man  would  go  up  a  hundred  or  two  still,  by  the 
way  he's  watching  him.  Nobody  else  seems  to  want  her, 
and  it's  quite  likely  they'll  crawl  up  by  tens.  Sit  still, 
while  I  run  around  and  find  out  what's  the  matter  with 
my  broker." 

He  slipped  out,  but  he  was  back  within  a  few  minutes, 
flushed  in  face,  and  -thrust  a  strip  of  paper  into  Jimmy's 
hand. 

"I  think  that  makes  the  thing  quite  plain,"  he  said. 

Jimmy  glanced  at  the  paper.  "Got  a  wire  last  minute, 
and  sent  over  to  your  hotel,  but  didn't  find  you  in," 
he  read.  "Had  to  go  out  unexpectedly  on  the  Sound 
steamer." 

"He  stopped  your  putting  another  man  on?"  he  said. 

"Yes,"  said  Jordan,  with  a  snap  in  his  dark  eyes. 
"Knetf  he  was  going  all  the  while.  Played  me  for  a 
sucker.  Well,  I  guess  I  was  one,  or  I  wouldn't  have 
given  him  an  option  of  selling  me  to  Merril." 


AT  AUCTION  129 

"Selling  you?" 

"Exactly.  I  might  have  known  it's  quite  hard  for  an 
outsider  to  kick  against  the  people  who  boss  these 
things.  Still,  since  Merril  knows,  there's  no  reason 
why  I  should  keep  my  knife  in  the  sheath.  Raise  them 
a  hundred  dollars.  I'll  stand  sponsor." 

Jimmy  did  not  stop  to  consider.  He  knew  that  every 
dollar  the  schooner  brought  now  would  go  into  the 
pockets  of  his  father,  and  that  was  enough  for  him. 

"I'll  make  the  figure  one  hundred  dollars  more,"  he 
said. 

The  man  Jordan  had  pointed  out  as  Merril's  agent 
leaned  forward  and  whispered  something  to  the  auction- 
eer, whereupon  the  latter  turned  to  Jimmy  with  a 
deprecatory  air. 

"The  terms  are  strictly  cash,"  he  said.  "I  presume 
you  are  in  a  position  to  put  down  the  bills  or  a  bank 
draft  if  you  got  her?  I  have,  of  course,  the  pleasure  of 
these  other  gentlemen's  acquaintance." 

Jimmy  felt  Jordan,  whom  he  had  seen  take  out  a 
wallet  and  a  fountain-pen,  thrust  something  into  his 
hand.  He  glanced  at  it  before  he  faced  the  auctioneer. 

"I  don't  know  how  far  that  was  admissible  or  in- 
spired," he  said.  "Anyway,  it  doesn't  matter.  This 
draft  should,  I  think,  speak  for  itself." 

The  auctioneer  apparently  waited  for  him  to  take  it 
across,  but  Jimmy  quietly  sat  down. 

"If  you  will  send  your  clerk,"  he  said. 

The  clerk  came  forward,  and  a  trace  of  amusement 
and  awakening  interest  crept  into  the  faces  of  the  rest. 

"That's   satisfactory,"   said  the  auctioneer.      "The, 


130  THRICE   ARMED 

signature  in  question  is  quite  sufficient.    I'll  record  your 
bid.     Will  anybody  raise  it?" 

Then  the  men  became  intent,  and  two  of  them  went  up 
by  forties.  Jimmy  glanced  at  his  companion,  who 
nodded. 

"Go  right  ahead.  Merril  and  the  other  man  want 
her,"  he  said. 

A  few  minutes  later,  to  Jimmy's  astonishment,  Forster 
came  in  and  stood  beside  them. 

.    "What's  the  figure  ?"  he  asked,  and,  when  Jordan  told 
him,  "Is  she  worth  it?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy;  "you  could  go  up  at  least  five 
hundred  dollars  further." 

"Ten  advance,"  said  Forster  to  the  auctioneer,  and 
then  turned  to  Jordan.  "I  suppose  you're  not  set  on 
getting  her?" 

Jordan  smiled,  and  Forster  made  a  little  whimsical 
gesture.  "I  understand.  Doing  much  the  same  thing 
myself.  Miss  Wheelock  and  my  wife  are  outside.  I've 
been  hanging  round  in  the  vestibule  until  it  seemed 
convenient  for  me  to  take  a  hand  in." 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  but  when  he  looked  around  a 
few  moments  later  he  was  somewhat  astonished  to  see 
that  Jordan's  place  was  empty.  His  comrade  was,  in 
fact,  hastening  down  the  street  to  where  Forster's  light 
wagon  stood  outside  a  big  dry-goods  store.  He  went 
in  and  came  upon  Eleanor  Wheelock,  standing  very 
straight  and  slim  in  her  long  white  dress.  She  turned 
and  looked  at  him  with  a  curious  little  smile. 

"Have  you  come  to  tell  me  that  Forster  is  taking 
unnecessary  trouble  in  this  affair?"  she  said. 


AT  AUCTION  131 

Jordan  was  not  readily  disconcerted,  but  he  showed 
a  momentary  trace  of  embarrassment. 

"No,"  he  replied,  "I  haven't.  I'm  open  to  admit  that 
I'm  not  quite  as  smart  as  I  thought  I  was.  My  man 
didn't  turn  up.  In  fact,  he  sold  me  to  Merril." 

Eleanor  still  looked  at  him,  and  his  tone  became 
deprecatory.  "You're  not  pleased?" 

"No,"  said  the  girl,  with  a  faint  flush  in  her  cheeks. 
"I  like  my  friends  to  be  successful." 

Jordan  winced  perceptibly.    "I  won't  fail  next  time." 

"Are  you  warranted  in  thinking  there  will  be  another 
time?" 

"I  guess  so.  I  don't  know  that  I  deserve  it,  but  you 
won't  be  too  hard  on  me?" 

Eleanor  saw  the  gleam  in  his  eyes.  "It  will  depend. 
Where  is  Jimmy?" 

"Bidding  against  Forster  and  the  rest  for  the  Tyee" 

"Ah!"  said  Eleanor,  and  for  a  moment  her  face 
softened.  "I  don't  know  why  you  didn't  tell  me  that 
earlier.  Hadn't  you  better  go  back  and  see  that  he 
doesn't  get  her?" 

"I  don't  care  if  he  does,"  said  Jordan;  "that  is,  as 
long  as  he  gives  me  half  an  hour  of  your  company." 

Eleanor  laughed.  "Leaving  out  the  compliment, 
what  would  you  do  if  Jimmy  bought  her  for  you?" 

"Run  her  against  the  first  vessel  Merril  put  on  a 
trip  she  was  good  for,  if  I  had  to  carry  freight  for 
nothing." 

The  girl  turned  and  glanced  at  him  again,  and  a 
hard  glint  crept  into  her  eyes.  She  looked  imperious, 
forceful,  and  vindictive  then,  but  the  man  felt  a  thrill 


132  THRICE    ARMED 

run  through  him,  for  he  knew  his  answer  had  pleased 
her. 

"Ah !"  she  said ;  "for  that  I  could  forgive  you  many  a 
failure.  Still,  you  must  go  back  and  look  after  Jimmy. 
We  shall  not  go  away  until  we  hear  what  you  have 
done." 

Jordan  reluctantly  turned  away,  and,  as  it  hap- 
pened, met  Jimmy  coming  out  of  the  auction-room  with 
perfect  satisfaction  in  his  face. 

"I  feel  that  I  owe  you  a  good  deal.  In  fact,  I'm 
afraid  I  can't  express  my  gratitude  as  I  ought,"  he 
said.  "Merril's  man  has  got  her,  but  I  have  a  clear 
thousand  dollars  to  hand  over  to  my  father.  Still, 
there's  something  that  puzzles  me.  What  brought 
Forster  here?" 

Jordan  laughed.     "Your  sister." 

"Eleanor?" 

"Of  course !"  said  Jordan  dryly.  "No  doubt,  because 
she  is  your  sister,  you  don't  credit  her  with  any  useful 
capacity." 

"Eleanor  is  clever,"  said  Jimmy  reflectively.  "Still, 
there  are  subjects  girls  know  nothing  about — and,  any- 
way, there  was  Mrs.  Forster's  attitude  to  consider.  It's 
hardly  in  human  nature  that  she  should  be  pleased  to 
see  her  husband  staking  his  money  to  please  her  chil- 
dren's teacher."  i 

"Exactly!  That  is  what  made  the  thing  cleverer. 
She  has  Mrs.  Forster's  good-will  too." 

"Then,"  said  Jimmy  decisively,  "she  must  be  a  very 
kindly  lady." 

"Or  your  sister  a  very  capable  young  woman.  You 
seem  to  find  it  a  little  difficult  to  recognize  that." 


AT  AUCTION  133 

Jimmy  dismissed  the  subject  with  a  little  gesture. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "I'm  almost  bewildered.  The  thing 
was  so  simple.  Why  didn't  Merril  think  of  it  ?" 

"I  have  no  doubt  he  did.  Still,  you  saw  what  the 
little  man  has  to  expect  if  he  makes  a  bid.  On  thinking 
it  over,  it  seems  to  me  that  Merril  trusted  to  my  broker. 
He  figured  I'd  back  down  once  I  realized  that  he  knew 
my  game  and  was  a  match  for  me.  There  are  big  men 
like  him  who  live  by  bluff,  and  everybody  makes  way 
for  them,  but  they're  apt  to  show  themselves  very  much 
the  same  as  other  people  when  you  face  them  resolutely. 
It's  just  like  putting  a  pin  in  a  bubble." 

Then  Forster  joined  them  while  his  wife  and  Eleanor 
came  out  of  the  store,  and  a  few  minutes  later  the  girl 
and  Jordan  walked  behind  the  other  three  as  they  turned 
toward  the  hotel  where  the  wagon  had  been  sent. 
Eleanor  smiled  at  her  companion. 

"We  are  indebted  to  you,  after  all,"  she  said,  and 
there  was  a  faint  but  suggestive  something  in  her  voice 
which  satisfied  Jordan. 


* 


TWO  or  three  weeks  had  slipped  away  since  the 
sale  of  the  Tyee,  when  Jimmy  Wheelock,  who 
had  been  specially  requested  to  do  so,  called  at 
Forster's  ranch.  He  did  not  know  why  his  presence 
was  required,  and  when  he  arrived  was  somewhat  as- 
tonished to  find  Jordan,  Valentine,  and  a  man  he  had 
not  met,  sitting  with  his  host  about  a  little  table  in  the 
big  general  room.  A  decanter  and  a  box  of  cigars 
stood  on  the  table,  but  the  attitude  of  the  men  suggest- 
ed that  it  was  business  that  had  brought  them  there. 
Jordan,  who  was  talking  animatedly,  looked  up  when 
Jimmy  came  in. 

"You're  not  quite  on  time,"  he  said. 

"For  which  I  must  make  excuses ;"  and  Jimmy  turned 
to  Forster.  "The  fact  is,  I  might  not  have  got  here  at 
all  if  the  American  skipper  whose  new  mizzen-mast  I'm 
helping  to  fit  hadn't  run  out  of  wire-rigging.  I  couldn't 
well  afford  to  offend  a  man  who  considers  my  services 
worth  three  dollars  a  day." 

The  man  he  had  not  met  made  a  little  sign  with  his 
hand.  "It's  an  excuse  that  will  pass  in  this  country. 
Sit  right  down.  Jordan  insisted  on  having  you  here. 
Got  any  money  to  spare?" 

134 


"SHASTA"  SHIPPING  COMPANY     135 

"About  forty  dollars,"  said  Jimmy. 

The  other  man  smiled.  "That  won't  go  very  far. 
Well,  we  can  consider  ourselves  a  quorum,  and  Mr. 
Jordan  will  go  ahead." 

"One  moment,"  said  Forster.  "Mr.  Leeson,  Jimmy. 
Help  yourself — you  see  the  cigars." 

Jimmy  sat  down,  and  glanced  at  the  gentleman  who 
had  previously  addressed  him.  He  fancied  he  had  heard 
Jordan  mention  him  as  one  interested  in  the  then  some- 
what decadent  sealing  industry,  but  there  was  not  very 
much  to  be  gathered  from  his  appearance.  He  was 
plainly  dressed,  and  elderly,  and  had  a  lean,  expression- 
less face.  It  was  seamed  with  little  wrinkles,  his  figure 
was  spare,  and  he  leaned  forward  with  an  elbow  on 
the  table  as  if  it  were  too  much  trouble  to  hold  himself 
upright.  In  the  meanwhile  Jordan  recommenced. 

"I'll  be  quite'  frank  with  you  as  to  how  I'm  fixed, 
because  it  will  help  you  to  understand  how  I  got  on  the 
track  of  the  notion,"  he  said.  "Merril  has  now  a  con- 
trolling interest  in  the  coast  mill,  and  I  walked  out 
because  I  couldn't  agree  with  him.  Well,  I  have  some 
money  laid  by  as  well  as  my  royalties,  and  I'm  under- 
taking a  few  machinery  agencies,  and  starting  as  mill 
expert  in  Vancouver.  In  fact,  I'll  sell  you  an  American 
stump-puller,  Mr.  Forster,  that  will  save  you  about  half 
you're  spending  on  grubbing  out  those  fir-roots  by 
hand  labor*" 

"Another  time!"  said  Leeson,  with  an  appreciative 
grin.  "Keep  to  the  shipping  business." 

Jordan  made  a  little  gesture  of  resignation.  "Well, 
as  I  told  you  already,  there's  a  good  deal  of  odd  freight 
to  be  moved  up  and  down  this  coast,  and  there  would 


136  THRICE    ARMED 

be  more  if  there  were  better  facilities.  I  hear  of  ships 
held  up  because  the  salmon-packers  can't  get  thei* 
cases  down,  and  men  in  Vancouver  Island  feeding  fruit 
to  hogs,  and  cutting  good  oats  for  green  fodder  because 
they  couldn't  put  them  on  the  market  if  they  thrashed 
them.  What's  more,  Mr.  Merril  has  heard  about  it,  too, 
and  he's  an  enterprising  man.  Ran  me  out  of  that 
West  Coast  mill  because  I  wouldn't  come  down  on  my 
royalties — him !" 

"Off  the  track  again!"  said  Leeson.  "Merril  has 
bounced  a  good  many  men  out  of  things,  but  if  I'm  to 
put  any  money  into  this  venture,  I  must  have  a  better 
reason  than  that  you  want  to  get  even." 

"You'll  get  it,"  and  Jordan's  dark  eyes  snapped 
while  his  face  grew  animated.  "What  Merril  thinks 
safe  is  good  enough  for  us.  He  has  been  working  up 
a  notion  of  a  coast  shipping  combine,  one  that's  to  be 
all  Merril's,  and  he  has  two  or  three  schooners  and  a  big 
unhandy  lump  of  a  coal-eating  steamer.  He  got  her 
cheap,  like  the  rest  of  them.  Some  of  us  know  how 
he  did  it." 

He  glanced  at  Jimmy  sharply  before  he  went  on 
again.  "Now,  I've  been  considering  his  programme, 
and  he's  taking  hold  the  wrong  way — screwing  top 
freights  out  of  everybody  for  a  bad  service,  cutting 
down  wages,  and  running  his  boats  with  cheap  men  who 
are  going  to  learn  to  hate  him.  Well,  with  a  little  handy 
steamboat  that  would  crawl  in  wherever  there  was  a 
beach  the  ranchers  could  haul  their  stuff  down  to,  and 
a  policy  of  general  conciliation,  one  could  cut  the 
ground  right  from  under  him." 


"Quite  sure  of  that?"  said  Leeson.  "Without  his 
finding  it  out?" 

"Without  his  finding  it  out — until  we've  got  the 
trade;"  and  Jordan's  eyes  snapped  again.  "We're 
going  to  oblige  people,  and  make  our  connection  with 
the  ranchers  and  small  cannery  men  a  personal  thing. 
When  he  offers  a  big  rebate  it  will  be  a  little  too  late ; 
and,  anyway,  we  can  carry  freight  as  cheap  as 
Merril." 

"How  are  you  going  to  make  it  a  personal  connec- 
tion?" asked  Forster. 

"The  thing's  quite  easy.  I'm  going  to  send  round  a 
man  who  already  knows  most  of  those  ranchers  to  take 
them  up  fruit  packing-boxes  and  statistics  of  produce 
prices.  He'll  fix  it  up  with  them  for  the  boat  to  crawl 
in  anywhere  for  a  few  jumper  loads.  Merril  can't  do  it 
with  his  schooners  or  the  big  steamer.  I  guess  a  rancher 
would  sooner  face  a  high  freight  than  feed  the  stuff  to 
hogs,  or  haul  it  thirty  miles  over  a  bush-trail  to  the 
Dunsmore  road.  Then  I'm  going  to  have  a  good- 
humored  skipper  who'll  bring  the  men  off  and  make 
friends  with  them,  but  one  with  grit  enough  to  shove  the 
boat  round  on  time  when  she  has  a  perishable  freight  in 
a  gale  of  wind.  She's  to  be  just  the  right  size,  and,  to 
save  us  coal,  a  modern  tri-compound." 

"The  three  things  seem  essential.  The  last  two 
certainly  are,"  said  Forster,  with  a  suggestive  smile. 
"I  guess  it's  scarcely  necessary  to  ask  whether  you 
have  any  idea  how  to  obtain  them?" 

Jordan  laughed,  and  proceeded  to  astonish  his  com- 
panions, which  was,  however,  a  habit  of  his. 

"Got  them  all,"  he  said.      "The  steamboat's  lying 


138  THRICE    ARMED 

down  the  Sound,  and  I  hold  a  week's  option  on  her. 
Jim  Wheelock  would  go  in  command  of  her,  and  Mr. 
Valentine  can  sail  as  soon  as  he's  ready  in  the  Sorata, 
and  crawl  into  every  inlet  from  which  he  can  reach  half 
a  dozen  ranchers.  I'll  have  ready  for  him  four  or  five 
tons  of  cut  box  frames  that  will  only  want  nailing,  and 
they'll  go  into  his  saloon.  He'll  have  everything  fixed 
before  Merril  knows  we've  despatched  him." 

Jimmy  glanced  at  Valentine's  face,  and  broke  into  a 
soft  laugh,  though  he  had  been  at  least  as  far  from 
expecting  this  proposition  as  his  companion  seemed  to 
be.  Jordan  looked  at  them  both,  and  nodded  tran- 
quilly. 

"You'll  go?"  he  said,  and  then  laid  a  sheet  of  paper 
on  the  table.  "Here's  my  notion  of  costs,  capital, 
salaries,  and  general  expenses.  Kind  of  prospectus. 
Shows  the  usual  twenty-per-cent.  profit — only  we're 
going  to  make  it." 

It  was  quite  clear  that  he  meant  it,  for  this  was  a  man 
who  had  a  full  share  of  the  optimism  which  character- 
izes most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pacific  Slope.  He 
smiled  reassuringly  at  his  companions;  but  there  was 
silence  for  several  minutes  while  Leeson  examined  the 
paper  and  then  passed  it  to  Forster.  Jimmy,  who  felt 
that  his  opinion  would  not  be  particularly  valuable,  and 
had  noticed  the  little  smile  in  Valentine's  eyes,  sat  still, 
looking  out  through  the  open  window  at  the  shadowy 
bush  beyond  Forster's  orchard. 

It  cut,  vague  and  black  and  mysterious,  against  the 
wondrous  green  and  saffron  glow  of  the  sunset,  and  the 
little  trail  that  wound  away  into  it  had  just  then  a 
curious  interest  for  him.  He  wondered  where  it  led, 


"SHASTA"  SHIPPING  COMPANY    139 

i 

and  how  long  it  wandered  through  the  dim  shadow 
before  it  came  out  again  into  the  garish  brilliancy. 
The  thing  seemed  an  allegory,  for  when  he  came  into 
that  country  and  flung  his  career  away  he  had  felt  lost 
and  adrift,  without  a  mark  to  guide  him,  while  now 
Jordan  and  those  others  were  about  to  set  his  feet  on 
the  trail.  It  must  lead  somewhere,  as  all  trails  res- 
olutely followed  do,  though  now  and  then  they  plunge 
into  tangles  of  morasses  where  the  rotting  pines  fall  or 
climb  the  snow-barred  passes  of  towering  ranges.  He 
had  a  curious  confidence  in  the  daring  American.  Still, 
he  felt  that  in  all  probability  there  was  a  long  and  dif- 
ficult march  in  front  of  him  and  the  little  party  then 
sitting  in  the  slowly  darkening  room  of  Forster's  ranch. 
It  was  Leeson  who  spoke  first. 

"There  are  men  who  would  call  the  whole  thing  crazy, 
and  they'd  have  some  reason  for  doing  so,"  he  said. 
"Most  of  us  know  what  Merril  is." 

It  was  evident  that  his  opinion  carried  weight,  and 
Jimmy,  who  felt  a  growing  tension,  saw  the  sudden, 
eagerness  in  Jordan's  face. 

"No,"  he  said,  "that's  just  where  you're  wrong.  We 
know  what  he  pretends  to  be ;  and  if  a  man  puts  up  a 
big  enough  bluff,  most  people  back  down  and  don't 
ask  him  to  make  it  good.  You  see  the  point  of  it?" 

Leeson  made  a  little  half-impatient  gesture.  "What 
d'you  figure  on  putting  in,  Mr.  Jordan?" 

"Ten  thousand  dollars." 

Leeson  said  nothing,  but  glanced  at  Forster  wrink- 
ling his  brows. 

"I  might  manage  five  thousand,"  said  the  rancher. 
"I  haven't  found  clearing  virgin  bush  a  very  profitable 


140  THRICE    ARMED 

occupation,  and  I  want  more  than  the  interest  I'm 
getting  from  the  bank.  Mr.  Jordan  has  naturally 
talked  over  the  thing  with  me  before,  and  I  fancy  his 
scheme  is  workable;  but,  as  I  don't  know  a  great  deal 
about  these  matters,  I'd  very  much  like  to  hear  what 
your  opinion  of  it  is." 

He  glanced  inquiringly  at  Leeson,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent to  Jimmy  that  the  success  or  failure  of  the  project 
depended  on  what  the  latter  said.  He  sat  silent  again 
for  almost  a  minute,  drumming  on  the  table. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you'll  be  told  it's  a  fool  game.. 
Most  of  the  men  in  Vancouver   City  would  consider 
that  a  sure  thing — but  I'm  putting  in  fifteen  thousand 
dollars." 

Jimmy  saw  his  comrade's  face  relax  and  a  little 
exultant  sparkle  creep  into  his  eyes,  while  he  felt  his 
own  heart  beat  a  trifle  faster.  Then  Valentine,  who 
had  not  spoken  yet,  turned  to  the  rest.  "In  that  case 
I  guess  we  can  consider  the  thing  feasible,"  he  said. 
"If  the  sum  isn't  beneath  your  notice,  I'll  venture  a 
thousand  dollars." 

"What  has  given  you  a  hankering  after  twenty  per 
cent.?"  asked  Jordan.  "It  is  not  so  very  long  since 
you  told  me  that  the  sea,  which  cost  nothing,  was 
enough  for  you." 

Valentine  laughed.  "I  rather  think  it's  the  occupa- 
tion that  appeals  to  me.  Charterers  have  a  trick  of 
treading  on  one's  toes  occasionally,  and  I  don't  think  I 
should  take  kindly  to  business  as  it  appears  to  be  car- 
ried on  in  the  neighboring  city.  One  can,  however,  talk 
to  the  bush-ranchers  intelligently.  In  any  case,  I 
shouldn't  regard  that  twenty  per  cent,  as  a  certainty." 


"SHASTA"  SHIPPING  COMPANY     141 

Jordan  grinned  good-humoredly,  but  there  was  a 
twinkle  of  keener  appreciation  in  Forster's  eyes. 
"There  is  a  good  deal  the  bush  can  teach  the  man  who 
wants  to  understand,"  he  said.  "I  dare  say  you  are 
right,  Mr.  Valentine." 

"Well,"  said  Jordan  dryly,  "the  only  use  I  ever  had ; 
for  the  bush  was  as  a  place  for  growing  saw-logs ;  but 
while  talk  of  this  kind  has  nothing  to  do  with  business, 
there's  something  I  want  to  mention.  I  met  Austerly 
not  long  ago,  and  he  wants  to  see  you  and  Jim  Wheelock 
when  you  can  make  it  convenient,  Valentine.  Now,  if 
you'll  keep  quiet  a  few  minutes,  I'll  get  on  a  little." 

He  went  on  for  a  considerable  time,  with  features 
hardening  into  intentness  and  dark  eyes  scintillating, 
and  when  at  last  he  stopped,  Leeson  made  a  sign  of 
concurrence.  Then  questions  were  asked  and  answered, 
and  afterward  Forster,  who  passed  the  decanter  to 
his  guests,  stood  up. 

"Since  Mr.  Jordan  fancies  he  can  raise  another  few 
thousand  dollars  privately  if  it's  wanted,  we  can  con- 
sider the  affair  arranged,"  he  said.  "Here's  prosperity 
to  The  Shasta  Steam  Shipping  Company !" 

It  was  growing  dusk  when  they  drank  the  toast  in 
the  big  shadowy  room,  and,  as  he  glanced  at  his  com- 
panions, Jimmy  was  momentarily  troubled  with  a  sense 
of  his  and  their  insignificance.  There  were  only  four 
of  them,  and  none  of  them,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  old  Leeson,  were  men  of  capital,  while  he  had  an 
uneasy  feeling  that  in  view  of  Merril's  opposition  it 
was  a  very  big  thing  they  had  undertaken.  Leeson  set 
his  wine-glass  down  and  shook  his  head. 

"We're  going  to  have  to  fight  for  it,"  he  said. 


142  THRICE    ARMED 

Then  the  group  broke  up,  and  Jimmy,  who  strolled 
away  to  ask  for  Mrs.  Forster,  saw  nothing  of  his  sister 
oi4,  as  it  happened,  of  Jordan  either,  until  the  rancher's 
hired  man  brought  his  comrade's  team  up.  Jimmy 
drove  home  with  him,  but  Jordan  was  unusually  silent 
as  the  team  swung  along  the  dim,  white  road.  Once, 
however,  he  appeared  to  rouse  himself. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  though  Jimmy  had  not  spoken,  "old 
man  Leeson  is  right ;  we  will  have  to  fight  for  it.  Still, 
I  have  put  my  pile  in,  and  we  have  got  to  win." 

He  glanced  in  Jimmy's  direction,  but  the  latter  said 
nothing  and  it  was  too  dark  to  see  his  face.  "Just  got 
to  win,"  he  said  again,  as  he  shook  the  reins.  "It  has 
been  a  pull  up  grade  since  I  was  sixteen,  but  some- 
how I  got  the  things  I  set  my  mind  on,  one  by  one. 
Perhaps  Valentine  would  tell  you  they  weren't  all  worth 
while,  and  he  might  be  right  about  some  of  them,  but  a 
man  has  to  be  what  he  was  born  to  be — and  now  I  know 
there's  nothing  on  this  earth  worth  quite  so  much  as 
what  I'm  fighting  for." 

Still  Jimmy  did  not  understand,  and  therefore,  as  was 
usual  with  him  in  such  cases,  made  no  observation,  and 
his  comrade  laughed  curiously  when  he  complained  of 
the  jolting  instead  as  he  essayed  to  light  a  cigar. 

"Well,"  said  Jordan,  "you'll  go  down  the  Sound  and 
see  about  bringing  the  Shasta  up  just  as  soon  as  you're 
ready." 

Jimmy  went  next  day,  and  Valentine,  who  went  alone 
to  Austerly's,  sailed  for  the  West  Coast  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  It  was  two  weeks  later  when  Jimmy  came 
back  with  a  little  two-masted  steamer  of  250  tons  or 
so.  She  was  not  by  any  means  a  new  boat,  nor  were  her 


"SHASTA"  SHIPPING  COMPANY     143 

engines  especially  powerful,  and,  after  finding  out  her 
various  complaints  during  the  sheltered  voyage  down 
the  Sound,  Jimmy  had  hoped  to  spend  a  week  or  two 
overhauling  her  before  he  went  to  sea.  This,  however, 
was  not  to  be,  for  he  had  hardly  brought  her  up  near 
the  wharf  when  Jordan  came  off,  and  found  him  sitting 
wearily  on  the  bridge,  begrimed  all  over  and  heavy-eyed. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you  look  considerably  more  like  the 
played-out  mariner  than  the  wedding  guest.  What  has 
been  worrying  you?  Anything  wrong  with  her?" 

"A  good  many  things,"  said  Jimmy.  "If  I  went 
through  the  list  I  should  probably  scare  you.  She  has 
evidently  been  lying-up  for  a  while,  and  that  is  apt  to 
have  its  effect  on  any  steamboat's  constitution.  I've 
had  no  sleep  all  the  way  up,  and  spent  most  of  the  time 
in  manual  labor  when  I  wasn't  at  the  helm.  The  men 
I  have — and  they're  a  tolerably  decent  crowd — natural- 
ly expected  to  rest  now  and  then." 

"What's  the  matter  with  your  engineer?" 

"Nothing,  except  that  he's  played-out — and  I  don't 
wonder.  He'll  be  fast  asleep  by  now,  and  I  don't  think 
I'd  worry  him  if  I  were  you." 

Jordan  looked  suddenly  thoughtful.  "Now  be  quick. 
Is  this  boat  fit  to  go  to  sea,  or  has  that  blamed  surveyor 
swindled  you  and  me  ?" 

"She's  sound.  That  is,  she  will  be  when  we've  had  a 
month  in  which  to  straighten  her  up,  or  have  had  a 
carpenter  and  foundry  gang  sent  on  board  her." 

Jordan's  face  showed  his  relief.  "Well,"  he  said, 
"you  have  got  to  take  the  month  at  sea.  You  start 
to-night,  and  can  do  what's  wanted  when  you  have  the 
opportunity.  There's  another  thing.  We  have  ar- 


144  THRICE    ARMED 

ranged  for  a  kind  of  inaugural  banquet,  and  you'll  have 
to  straighten  her  up  a  little.  I'll  send  you  down  some 
flowers  and  things." 

Jimmy  gazed  at  him  in  drowsy  consternation.  "If 
your  guests  expect  anything  fit  to  eat,  you  had  better 
send  the  banquet  too.  Who  in  the  name  of  wonder  are 
you  bringing  here?" 

"Eleanor — that  is,  Miss  Wheelock.  Austerly  and 
his  daughter.  I  believe  Valentine  invited  them.  Forster 
and  Mrs.  Forster,  and  old  man  Leeson  too.  You  have 
got  to  brace  up  and  face  the  thing." 

"I'm  going  to  sleep,"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  gesture  of 
resignation.  "You'll  take  these  papers  to  the  respective 
offices,  and  I  may  be  able  to  talk  sensibly  during  the 
afternoon.  But  what  made  you  want  to  bring  Eleanor 
and  Mrs.  Forster  here?" 

Jordan  laughed,  and  laid  his  hand  on  his  comrade's 
shoulder.  "I'll  tell  you  later;  you're  too  sleepy  now. 
In  the  meanwhile,  I'll  get  round  and  fix  things  gen- 
erally." 

He  went  away  in  a  few  minutes,  and  Jimmy,  drag- 
ging himself  into  the  little  room  beneath  the  bridge, 
flung  himself  down  in  the  skipper's  berth,  dressed  as  he 
was. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA 

IT  was  a  still,  clear  evening  when  Jimmy  stood  at  the 
Shasta's  gangway  waiting  to  receive  his  guests. 
She  lay  out  in  the  Inlet,  and  he  could  see  the  two 
boats  sliding  across  the  smooth,  green  water  with  a 
measured  splash  of  oars,  while  the  voices  of  their  occu- 
pants reached  him  faintly  through  the  clatter  of  a 
C.P.R.  liner's  winches  and  the  tolling  of  a  locomotive 
bell  ashore.  A  thin  jet  of  steam  simmered  about  the 
Shasta's  rusty  funnel,  and  she  lay  motionless  on  the 
glassy  brine,  with  cracked  and  splintered  decks,  and 
what  paint  a  long  exposure  to  rain  and  sun  had  not 
removed  peeling  from  her.  Jimmy  had  had  no  time  to 
spare  for  any  attempt  at  decoration  during  the  voyage 
down  Puget  Sound.  Indeed,  he  and  his  engineer  felt 
thankful  they  had  succeeded  in  bring  her  round  at  all. 
By  and  by  the  first  boat  ran  alongside,  and,  because 
she  belonged  to  the  Shasta,  Jimmy  was  relieved  to  see 
that  there  was,  after  all,  not  a  very  great  deal  of  water 
in  her,  though  his  guests  sat  with  their  feet  drawn  up. 
There  were  several  of  them:  Jordan,  who  wore  among 
other  somewhat  unusual  garments  a  frock-coat,  and  was 
talking  volubly;  Eleanor,  in  elaborate  white  dress  and 
a  very  big  white  hat ;  old  Leeson,  Forster  and  his  wife. 

145 


146  THRICE    ARMED 

Jimmy  helped  them  up  with  difficulty,  for  the  Shasta 
was  floating  high  and  light  and  had  not  been  provided 
with  a  passenger  ladder.  Something  in  his  sister's  face 
perplexed  him  when  at  last  they  stood  on  deck. 
Eleanor  was  quieter  than  usual,  and  when  she  looked  at 
him  there  was  a  trace  of  color  in  her  cheeks  he  could 
not  quite  account  for. 

"You  seem  almost  astonished  to  see  me,"  she  said. 
"Even  if  I  hadn't  wanted  to  come,  Charley  would  have 
insisted  on  it." 

Jimmy  gazed  hard  at  both  her  and  Jordan,  and 
noticed  that  Mrs.  Forster  seemed  a  trifle  amused. 

"Charley?"  he  said. 

"Of  course.  Hasn't  he  told  you  ?"  said  Eleanor ;  and 
though  she  laughed,  there  was  diffidence  and  pride  in 
her  eyes  when  she  glanced  at  the  man  beside  her.  It 
was  also,  her  brother  felt,  rather  more  than  the  pride  of 
possession. 

"I  must  explain,"  said  Jordan.  "When  I  came  off 
this  morning,  Jimmy  was  too  sleepy  to  be  entrusted  with 
any  information  of  the  kind.  Still,  I  quite  think  I 
deserve  a  few  congratulations." 

Jimmy  looked  at  him  with  a  faint  wrinkling  of  his 
brows,  and  then  involuntarily  turned  toward  the  rest 
of  the  company. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "I  suppose  it's  only  natural,  though 
of  course  I  never  expected  this." 

Mrs.  Forster  laughed  outright.  "Then  everybody 
else  did,  and  ventured  to  approve  of  it." 

Jimmy  stretched  his  hand  out,  and  grasped  that  of 
his  comrade  slowly  and  tenaciously.  "After  all,  there 
is  nobody  I  should  sooner  trust  her  to,  and  I  don't 


THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA       147 

think  you  could  have  got  anybody  more — capable,  gen- 
erally," he  said.  "Eleanor,  you  see,  is  cleverer  than 
I  am." 

Eleanor  Wheelock  naturally  understood  her  brother, 
and  there  was  whimsical  toleration  in  her  smile,  while 
the  little  twinkle  grew  more  pronounced  in  Jordan's 
eyes.  He  was  a  shrewd  man,  and  had  already  formed 
a  reasonably  accurate  notion  of  Jimmy  and  Eleanor 
Wheelock's  respective  capabilities. 

"Thank  you!"  he  said.  "The  other  boat  should  be 
almost  alongside." 

He  moved  aft  with  Eleanor  and  the  rest  of  the  guests, 
while  Jimmy,  who  had  not  quite  recovered  from  his 
astonishment,  was  leaning  on  the  rail  when  another 
boat  slid  around  the  Shasta's  stern.  He  recognized 
Austerly  and  his  daughter  on  board  her,  and  then  felt 
his  heart  beat  and  the  blood  creep  into  his  face,  for 
Anthea  Merril  was  sitting  at  Miss  Austerly's  side.  He 
had  not  seen  her  since  he  stood  one  morning  on  the 
wharf  in  the  rnan-o'-war  cap,  but  he  had  thought  of 
her  often,  and  now,  though  his  pleasure  at  seeing  her 
almost  drove  out  the  other  feeling,  it  seemed  unfitting 
that  she  should  be  there  to  take  her  part  in  sending  out 
the  steamer  that  was,  if  the  Shasta  Company  could  con- 
trive it,  to  bring  to  nothing  her  father's  scheme.  The 
boat  was  alongside  in  a  few  moments,  and  when  her 
occupants  reached  the  deck  Austerly  shook  hands  with 
Jimmy. 

"I  must  offer  you  rny  congratulations  on  being  in 
command,"  he  said.  "My  daughter  seemed  to  fancy 
we  should  be  warranted  in  bringing  Miss  Merril." 

Anthea  smiled  at  Jimmy.    "Yes,"  she  said,  "I  wanted 


148  THRICE    ARMED 

to  come ;  but  of  course  if  it  was  presumptuous,  you  can 
send  me  back  again." 

"I  think  you  ought  to  know  there  is  nobody  I  should 
sooner  see ;"  and  Jimmy,  who  was  not  so  alert  as  usual 
that  evening,  looked  at  her  too  steadily. 

Anthea  met  his  gaze  for  a  moment,  and  then,  con- 
sidering that  she  was  a  young  woman  accustomed  to 
hold  her  own  in  Colonial  society,  it  was,  perhaps,  a 
trifle  curious  that  she  slowly  looked  away.  None  of  the 
others  noticed  this,  except  Miss  Austerly,  and  she  kept 
any  conclusions  she  may  have  formed  to  herself.  Then, 
though  it  seemed  to  come  about  naturally  without  any- 
body's contrivance,  Austerly  and  his  daughter  joined 
Jordan,  and  for  a  few  minutes  Anthea  and  Jimmy  were 
left  alone.  The  girl  leaned  on  the  rail  looking  across 
the  shining  water  toward  the  great  white  hull  of  the 
Empress  boat  lying,  immaculate  and  beautiful  in  out- 
line, beneath  the  climbing  town.  Then  she  turned,  and 
Jimmy  felt  that  he  knew  what  she  was  thinking  as  her 
eyes  wandered  over  the  little  rusty  Shasta.  Though  he 
had  not  spoken,  she  smiled  in  a  manner  which  seemed 
to  imply  comprehension  when  he  looked  at  her. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "there  has  been  a  change  since  I 
last  saw  you — and  I  am  glad  you  are  in  command. 
One  can't  help  thinking  that  you  must  find  this,  at 
least,  a  trifle  more  familiar." 

"At  least?"  said  Jimmy. 

Anthea  nodded,  and  her  eyes  rested  on  the  big  white 
mail-boat  again.  "I  think,"  she  said,  "you  quite  know 
what  I  mean." 

Once  more  Jimmy's  prudence  failed  him.  "Well," 
he  said,  "it  is  rather  a  curious  thing  that  even  when  you 


THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA       149 

don't  express  it  I  generally  seem  to.  I  don't  know" — 
and  he  added  this  reflectively — "why  it  should  be  so." 

"I  think  that  is  rather  a  difficult  question — one,  in 
fact,  that  we  should  gain  nothing  by  going  into.  How 
long  are  you  going  to  command  the  Shasta?'9 

"Until "  and  Jimmy,  who  had  not  quite  recovered 

from  his  exertions  during  the  voyage,  stopped  abruptly. 
He  could  not  tell  his  companion  that  he  expected  to 
sail  the  dilapidated  steamer  until  she  had  wrested  away 
a  sufficient  share  of  the  trade  her  father  was  laying 
hands  upon  to  enable  Jordan  to  buy  a  larger  one. 

"I  don't  quite  know,"  he  added.  "Anyway,  I  was 
very  glad  to  get  her.  It  is  pleasanter  to  take  command 
than  to  carry  planks  about  the  Hastings  wharf  ashore." 

"You  were  doing  that?"  and  for  no  very  ostensible 
reason  a  faint  tinge  of  color  crept  into  his  companion's 
face.  Labor  is  held  more  or  less  honorable  in  that 
country,  but,  after  all,  Anthea  Merril  was  a  young 
woman  of  station. 

"It  must  have  been  a  change,"  she  said  a  moment 
later. 

"From  the  lumber  schooner,  or  Valentine's  Sorata?" 

Anthea  looked  at  him  with  a  sparkle  in  her  eyes. 
"Pshaw!"  she  said.  "Are  you  going  to  masquerade 
always,  or  do  you  think  I  am  quite  without  intelli- 
gence?" 

Then  she  turned,  and  pointed  to  the  beautiful  white 
Empress  boat.  "When  are  you  going  back  again?" 

Jimmy  understood  her,  and  made  no  further  dis- 
claimer. Still,  his  face  grew  somewhat  hard,  and  he 
moved  abruptly. 

"I  don't  quite  know,"  he  said.     "Very  likely  I  shall 


150  THRICE    ARMED 

never  go  back  at  all.  Circumstances  are  rather  against 
me." 

"And  can't  you  alter  them?" 

Jimmy  drew  in  his  breath,  and  unconsciously  straight- 
ened himself  a  trifle.  The  girl  stood  close  beside  him, 
looking  at  him — not  as  one  who  asked  a  question,  but 
rather  as  though  she  had  expressed  her  belief  in  his 
ability  to  do  what  he  wished.  The  confidence  this 
suggested  sent  a  thrill  through  him,  and  her  quiet 
graciousness — which,  though  she  addressed  him  as  one 
of  her  own  world,  was  not  without  its  trace  of  natural 
dignity — and  her  physical  beauty  set  his  heart  beat- 
ing. 

"I  can  try,"  he  said  simply.  "There  are,  however, 
difficulties." 

"Of  course!"  and  Anthea  smiled.  "There  generally 
are.  Still,  if  one  is  resolute  enough,  they  can  usually  be 
got  over." 

Jimmy  said  nothing.  He  was  not,  after  all,  especially 
apt  at  conversation,  and  he  could  not  tell  her  that 
among  all  the  difficulties  he  might  have  to  grapple  with, 
the  greatest  was  probably  her  father. 

Just  then,  as  it  happened,  Jordan  turned  and  called 
to  them,  and,  moving  aft,  they  descended  to  the  little 
stern  cabin  with  the  rest.  It  was  draped  with  the  least 
faded  flags  from  the  signal  locker ;  the  table  glittered 
with  glass  and  silver,  and  was  set  out  with  great 
bouquets  of  flowers.  The  ports  were  wide  open,  and  the 
cool  evening  air,  fragrant  in  spite  of  the  city's  pro- 
pinquity with  the  smell  of  the  Stanley  pines,  flowed  in. 
Eleanor  Wheelock  looked  around  with  a  smile  of  ap- 
preciation, and  theji  turned  to  Jordan. 


THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA       151 

"Oh,"  she  said,  "it's  pretty!  You  have  done  it  all. 
Jimmy  would  never  have  thought  of  that.  But  why 
are  both  those  flags  there?" 

Jordan  glanced  at  the  two  big  crossed  flags  that 
streamed  down  upon  the  settee  in  the  vessel's  counter. 
They  were  new,  and  athwart  the  broad  red  and  white 
crosses  gleamed  the  silver  stars. 

"Well,"  he  said  with  a  little  smile,  "I  don't  know 
any  reason  why  they  shouldn't  be  there  side  by  side.  It 
seems  to  me  there'd  be  peace  on  earth  right  off  if 
they  always  hung  that  way,  if  only  because  all  the  rest 
of  the  world  would  be  afraid  to  break  it.  You  have 
heard  of  the  first  message  we  sent  your  folks  in  the  Old 
Country  over  the  Atlantic  cable.  Besides,  the  thing's 
symbolical  of  another  alliance  that's  not  only  to  be 
wished  for,  but  going  to  be  consummated." 

Eleanor  blushed  becomingly  amidst  the  approving 
laughter,  and,  as  she  stood  there  in  the  gleaming  white 
dress  and  big  white  hat,  with  the  clear  color  in  her 
cheeks,  it  seemed  to  Jimmy  that  he  had  never  seen  his 
sister  look  half  so  captivating.  In  fact,  he  was  almost 
astonished  that  it  had  not  occurred  to  him  before  that 
Eleanor  was  so  exceptionally  well-favored.  The  quiet 
and  somewhat  plain-featured  Mrs.  Forster,  and  Auster- 
ly's  sickly  daughter,  served  as  fitting  foils  for  her  some- 
what imperious  beauty.  Then,  as  she  glanced  in  his 
direction,  Jimmy  moved  a  pace  or  two,  and  Anthea  came 
out  of  the  shadow. 

"My  sister  Eleanor — Miss  Merril,"  he  said. 

There  was  a  brief  silence  which  Jimmy,  at  least, 
found  embarrassing,  for  it  seemed  to  him  that  every- 
body was  watching  the  two  girls  with  sudden  interest. 


152  THRICE    ARMED 

He  also  felt  that  when  Anthea  Merril  moved  for- 
ward, Eleanor,  as  it  were,  receded  into  second  place 
against  her  will.  His  sister  was  wholly  Western,  tall, 
and  somewhat  spare,  with  the  suppleness  of  a  finely 
tempered  spring  rather  than  that  of  the  willow  in  her 
figure.  Her  quick  glance  and  almost  incisive  speech 
matched  her  bearing.  One  could  see  that  she  was 
optimistic,  daring,  strenuous ;  but  with  Anthea  Merril 
it  was  different.  There  was  a  reserve  about  her,  and  a 
repose  in  voice  and  gesture  which  in  some  curious 
fashion  made  both  more  impressive.  She  was  also  a 
trifle  warmer  in  coloring  and  fuller  in  outline,  and 
stood  for,  or  so  it  seemed  to  Jimmy,  cultivated  ripeness 
as  contrasted  with  his  sister's  vigorous  and  brilliant 
crudity.  Quite  apart  from  this,  he  had  noticed 
Eleanor's  brows  straighten  almost  imperceptibly,  and 
the  slight  hardness  that  crept  into  her  eyes.  The  others 
apparently  did  not  see  it,  but  her  brother  understood 
those  signs. 

"Miss  Merril!  What  does  she  want  here?"  said  old 
Leeson,  who  usually  spoke  somewhat  loudly,  in  what  he 
evidently  fancied  was  an  aside,  and  it  seemed  to  Jimmy 
that  his  sister's  eyes  asked  the  same  question. 

Anthea,  so  far  as  he  could  see,  did  not  notice  this, 
and  it  was  she  who  spoke  first. 

"I  almost  fancy  I  have  met  you  somewhere,  Miss 
Wheelock,  though  I  do  not  think  it  was  in  Vancouver," 
she  said.  "Toronto  is  rather  a  long  way  off — but  I 
wonder  whether  you  were  ever  there?" 

"I  was,"  said  Eleanor.  "I  also  saw  you,  though  I 
never  spoke  to  you.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  was, 
however,  hardly  to  be  expected." 


THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA      153 

''No?"  said  Anthea,  with  a  note  of  inquiry  in  her 
voice ;  and,  though  Eleanor  smiled,  there  was  no  soften- 
ing of  her  eyes. 

"I  was  being  trained  to  earn  my  living,  and  my  few 
friends  belonged  to  a  very  different  set  from  yours." 

Jimmy  was  not  pleased  with  his  sister.  She  had 
spoken  quietly,  indeed  more  quietly  and  indifferently 
than  she  usually  did,  and  Anthea  Merril  had  not  shown 
the  least  resentment ;  but  he  felt  that  there  was  a  sudden 
antagonism  between  the  two  women.  It  was  therefore 
a  relief  to  him  when  the  steward  appeared  with  the 
dinner,  most  of  which  Jordan  had  wisely  had  sent  from 
a  big  hotel,  and  they  sat  down  at  the  table. 

It  was  a  convivial  meal.  Jordan  talked  volubly,  and 
there  was  a  sparkle  in  most  of  what  he  said;  Forster 
and  Austerly  were  quietly  jocular;  and  Eleanor,  who 
sat  next  their  host  at  the  head  of  the  table  as  his  bride- 
elect,  played  her  part  in  a  fashion  that  pleased  them 
all.  Other  things  had  also  their  effect  upon  the  com- 
pany. There  was  the  love-match  between  the  man  who 
had  staked  every  dollar  he  could  raise  to  send  out  that 
little  rusty  steamer,  and  the  beautiful  penniless  girl, 
as  well  as  the  presence  of  the  daughter  of  the  man  who, 
they  felt  reasonably  sure,  would  endeavor  to  crush  him 
by  any  means  available.  As  it  happened,  Anthea  Mer- 
ril talked  quietly,  and  apparently  confidentially,  to 
Jimmy  most  of  the  time,  and  even  old  Leeson,  who 
grinned  at  them  sardonically,  seemed  to  feel  that  the 
situation  was  rife  with  dramatic  possibilities. 

By  and  by  the  light  commenced  to  fade,  but  Eleanor's 
white  dress  still  gleamed  against  the  dull  blue  and  crim- 
son of  the  crossed  flags ;  and  in  after-days,  when  there 


154  THRICE    ARMED 

was  anger  between  them,  Jimmy  liked  to  remember  her 
sitting  there  at  Jordan's  side  to  speed  him  on  the 
Shasta's  first  voyage.  She  made  a  somewhat  imposing 
figure  in  the  little  dusky  cabin,  and  what  she  said  struck 
the  right  note  in  the  inauguration  of  that  venture,  for 
she  was  optimistic  and  forceful  in  speech  and  gesture — 
and  Anthea  now  sat  in  the  shadow. 

At  last  old  Leeson  rose  with  a  little  dry  chuckle. 
"I  don't  know  whether  speeches  are  expected,"  he  said. 
"Still,  I  guess  there's  one  toast  we  ought  to  honor,  and 
that's  the  engaged  pair.  Anyway,  it's  one  that's  espe- 
cially fitting  to-night,  since  it  seems  to  me  that  if  it 
hadn't  been  for  Miss  Wheelock  we  wouldn't  have  been 
here,  with  steam  up,  on  board  the  Shasta." 

There  was  a  little  good-humored  laughter,  but  Leeson, 
who  appeared  unconscious  that  his  observations  were 
open  to  misconception,  proceeded  calmly. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "in  a  general  way,  the  less  women 
have  to  do  with  business  the  better;  but  in  Miss 
Wheelock  we  have  an  exception.  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
her,  Forster  would  not  have  put  five  thousand  dollars 
into  the  Shasta,  and  if  he  hadn't  made  the  venture,  it's 
quite  likely  I  wouldn't  either.  It's  quite  a  big  one  for 
people  of  our  caliber,  but  we  have  a  live  man  to  run  the 
thing,  and  he  will  have  a  wife  as  smart  as  he  is  standing 
right  behind  him.  Well,  we'll  wish  the  pair  of  them 
long  life  and  happiness." 

Jimmy  rose  with  his  companions,  but  he  was  conscious 
that  Anthea  was  regarding  his  sister  with  grave  in- 
quiry. Then  Jordan  made  his  reply  conventionally, 
and  afterward  stood  still  a  moment  looking  at  his 


THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA      155 

guests,  until  with  a  little  abrupt  gesture  he  commenced 
again. 

"Mr.  Leeson's  right:  it  is  a  big  thing  we  have  on 
hand,"  he  said.  "We're  going  to  fight  and  break  a 
monopoly,  and,  if  all  goes  as  we  expect  it,  put  money 
into  our  pockets.  But  in  one  way  that's  only  half  of  it. 
I  want  you  to  think  of  the  honest  effort,  the  best  thing 
a  man  has  to  offer,  that  is  being  wasted  in  this  country. 
Can't  you  picture  the  bush-ranchers  hauling  produce 
thirty  miles  over  a  trail  a  city  man  wouldn't  ride  a 
horse  along  to  the  railroad,  and  watching  fruit  'most 
as  good  as  we  can  raise  in  California  rotting  by  the 
ton?  I  want  you  to  think  of  the  oat  crops  cut  green 
and  half-grown,  and  the  men  who  raised  them  mending 
their  clothes  with  flour-bags  and  measuring  out  their 
groceries  by  the  cent's  worth,  after  spending  half  a  life- 
time chopping  out  the  ranch.  It's  wrong — clean 
against  the  economy  of  things.  We  want  every  pound 
of  whatever  they  can  send  us.  We  have  mines  and  mills 
and  money,  but  in  this  Province  our  food  is  bad  and 
dear.  While  every  man  depends  on  his  neighbor,  the 
greatest  thing  in  civilization  is  facility  of  transport." 

He  stopped  a  moment  for  breath,  and  the  keen 
sparkle  in  his  dark  eyes  grew  plainer.  "Well,  we're 
going  to  provide  it,  and  do  what  we  can  for  the  men 
with  the  axe  and  the  grub-hoe.  Some  day  this  great 
Province  will  remember  what  it  owes  them.  Here  it's 
man  against  nature,  and  the  fight  is  hard,  while  we'll  do 
more  than  put  money  in  our  pockets  if  we  make  it  a 
little  easier.  We  want  a  fair  deal — and  we'll  get  it 
somehow — but  we  want  no  more ;  and  if  we  can  hold  on 


156  THRICE    ARMED 

long  enough,  it  won't  be  only  those  who  sent  her  out 
who  will  say,  'Speed  the  Shasta!'  ' 

He  stopped  amidst  acclamation,  for  his  mobile  face 
and  snapping  eyes  had  amplified  his  words,  and,  while 
he  handled  his  theme  clumsily,  there  was,  at  least,  no 
mistaking  the  strident  ring  of  the  dominant  note  in  it. 
In  that  country  it  was,  for  the  most  part,  man  against 
nature,  and  not  man  against  man,  and  the  recognition 
of  the  fact  was  in  all  who  heard  him.  There  men 
wrung  their  money  from  rocky  hillside  and  shadowy 
forest  with  toil  almost  incredible,  creating  wealth,  and 
not  filching  it  from  their  fellows  ;  but  nature  is  grim  and 
somewhat  terrible  in  the  land  of  rock  and  snow,  and 
all  down  the  great  Slope,  from  Wrangel  to  Shasta,  the 
battle  is  a  stern  and  arduous  one.  So  there  was  a  little 
kindling  in  the  listeners'  eyes,  and  the  women  also  raised 
their  glasses  high  as  they  said,  "Speed  the  Shasta," 
knowing  that  this  was  in  reality  but  a  part  of  what 
they  felt. 

Then  Eleanor  rose,  and  the  company,  scattering  for 
the  most  part,  went  back  on  deck,  where  it  once  more 
happened  by  some  means  that  Anthea  Merril  and  Jimmy 
found  themselves  some  distance  from  any  of  the  rest. 
The  girl  looked  up  at  him  with  a  little  smile. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "what  did  you  think  of  Mr.  Jordan's 
observations  ?" 

Jimmy  laughed.  "My  opinion  wouldn't  count.  I 
couldn't  make  a  speech  for  my  life." 

"No?"  said  Anthea.  "Still,  you  can  hold  a  steamer's 
wheel,  and  perhaps  under  the  circumstances  that  is 
quite  as  much  to  the  purpose.  In  any  case,  while  your 
comrade  was  a  little  flamboyant,  which  is  much  the 


THE  "SHASTA"  GOES  TO  SEA      157 

same  thing  as  Western,  I  think  he  meant  it.  After  all, 
if  we  parade  our  sentiments,  we  generally  act  up  to 
them." 

"Jordan,"  said  Jimmy,  "seems  to  have  quite  a  stock 
of  them." 

"And  I  understand  he  has  put  every  dollar  he  has 
into  the  venture.  Still,  I  suppose  he  did  it  cheerfully ; 
and  you  may  find  it  necessary  to  bring  those  bush- 
ranchers'  produce  down  against  a  gale  of  wind." 

There  was  a  smile  in  her  eyes  as  she  looked  at  him, 
but  in  spite  of  that  Jimmy  felt  his  face  grow  slightly 
warm.  It  was  not,  however,  altogether  because  Anthea 
noticed  it  that  she  changed  the  subject. 

"There  was  one  point  that  wasn't  quite  clear  to  me. 
Why  did  he  say  you  were  going  to  break  up  a 
monopoly?" 

Jimmy  wished  she  had  asked  him  anything  else,  for 
he  had  already  decided  that  Miss  Merril  knew  very  little 
about  her  father's  business. 

"Well,"  he  said  awkwardly,  "that's  rather  a  difficult 
thing  to  answer.  You  see,  he  mentioned  a  monop- 
oly " 

"He  certainly  did." 

"Then,  to  begin  with,  there  is  the  Dunsmore  road. 
They  naturally  couldn't  handle  produce  as  cheaply  as 
we  could,  and,  anyway,  it  isn't  of  much  benefit  to  the 
ranchers  who  can't  get  at  it." 

"  'To  begin  with  ?'  That  implies  more  than  one, 
which  is,  one  would  fancy,  the  essential  point  of  a 
monopoly." 

"Perhaps  it  is,"  said  Jimmy  vaguely.  "Still,  when 
we  get  our  hand  in,  there  will  be  three." 


158  THRICE    ARMED 

Anthea  may  have  had  her  reasons  for  not  pressing 
the  question  then,  for  she  laughed.  "Of  course !"  she 
said.  "Three  monopolies.  Well,  I  suppose  one  must 
excuse  you.  You  can  hold  a  steamer's  wheel." 

Jimmy,  on  the  whole,  felt  relieved  when  the  others 
sauntered  in  their  direction,  and  was  less  grieved  than 
he  might  have  been  under  different  circumstances  when 
Austerly  drew  Miss  Merril  away.  He  had  felt  once  or 
twice  before,  during  discussions  with  his  sister,  that 
keen  intelligence  is  not  invariably  a  commendable  thing 
in  a  woman.  After  that,  Jordan  had  a  good  many  in- 
structions to  give  him,  and  by  the  time  they  had  been 
imparted  the  rest  were  clustering  around  the  gangway ; 
while  five  minutes  later  Jimmy  leaned  on  the  rail  watch- 
ing the  boats  slide  away  toward  the  dusky  city.  Then 
he  climbed  to  his  bridge,  and  the  windlass  commenced 
to  rattle,  but  he  did  not  know  that  Anthea  Merril,  who 
heard  his  farewell  whistle,  kept  the  others  waiting  on 
the  wharf  a  moment  or  two  while  she  watched  the 
Shasta  slowly  steam  out  to  sea. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IN  DISTRESS 

THE  clear  night  was  falling  when  Jimmy  leaned 
on  the  bridge-rails  as  the  Shasta  steamed  out 
of  the  Inlet  beneath  a  black  wall  of  pines.  Over 
her  port  quarter  the  pale  lights  of  the  climbing  city 
twinkled  tier  on  tier,  with  dim  forest  rolling  away  be- 
hind them  into  the  creeping  mist.  Beyond  that,  in  turn, 
a  faint  blink  of  snow  still  gleamed  against  the  dusky 
blueness  of  the  east.  All  this  was  familiar,  but  he  was 
leaving  it  behind,  and  ahead  there  lay  an  empty  waste 
of  darkening  water,  into  which  the  Shasta  pushed  her 
way  with  thumping  engines  and  a  drowsy  gurgle  at  the 
bows.  It  seemed  to  Jimmy,  in  one  sense,  appropriate 
that  it  should  be  so.  He  had  cut  himself  adrift  from 
all  that  he  had  been  accustomed  to,  and  where  the  course 
he  had  launched  upon  would  lead  him  he  did  not  know. 
That,  however,  did  not  greatly  trouble  him.  His 
character  was  by  no  means  a  complex  one,  and  it  was 
sufficient  for  him  to  do  the  obvious  thing,  which,  after 
all,  usually  saves  everybody  trouble.  It  was  clear  that 
Tom  Wheelock  needed  him,  and  he  could,  at  least,  look 
back  a  little,  though  this  was  an  occupation  to  which 
he  was  not  greatly  addicted.  He  understood  now  how 
his  father,  who  had  perhaps  never  been  a  strong  man, 

159 


160  THRICE    ARMED 

had  slowly  broken  down  under  a  load  of  debt  that  was 
too  heavy  for  him,  though  the  nature  of  the  man  who 
had  with  deliberate  intent  laid  it  on  his  shoulders  was 
incomprehensible.  Jimmy,  in  fact,  could  scarcely  con- 
ceive the  possibility  of  any  man  scheming  and  plotting 
to  ruin  a  fellow-being  for  the  value  of  two  old  schoon- 
ers. The  apparently  insufficient  motive  made  the  thing 
almost  devilish.  Merril,  he  felt,  was  outside  the  pale  of 
humanity,  a  noxious  creature  to  be  shunned  or,  on  op- 
portunity, crushed  by  honest  men. 

Then  he  wondered  for  a  moment  whether  the  bond- 
holder's daughter  had  inherited  any  portion  of  her 
father's  nature,  and  brushed  the  thought  aside  with  a 
little  involuntary  shiver.  The  thing  was  out  of  the 
question.  One  could,  he  felt,  perhaps  illogically,  be 
sure  of  that  after  a  glance  at  her ;  and  then  he  straight- 
ened himself  with  a  little  abrupt  movement,  for  «.t  was 
very  clear  that  this  was,  after  all,  no  concern  of  his. 
He  had  never  met  any  woman  who  had  made  the  same 
impression  on  him  that  Anthea  Merril  had  done,  but 
he  had  already  decided  that  he  had  sense  enough  to 
prevent  himself  from  thinking  of  her  too  frequently ; 
and  it  was  evident  that  if  he  had  not  he  must  endeavor 
to  acquire  it. 

He  strove  to  divert  his  thoughts,  and  listened  to  the 
flow  of  language  that  rose  through  the  open  skjrlights 
from  the  Shasta's  engine-room.  Taken  together  with 
the  pungent  smell  of  burning  grease  and  a  certain  harsh 
thumping,  it  suggested  that  things  were  not  going  well 
down  there.  Then,  looking  forward,  he  watched  the 
black  figure  of  the  look-out  on  the  forecastle  cut  sharp 
and  clean  against  the  pale  gleaming  of  the  western  sky 


IN  DISTRESS  161 

as  the  bows  swung  over  the  long  heave  with  a  rhythmic 
regularity,  for  the  Shasta  was  drawing  out  into  open 
water  now.  She  was  making  eight  knots,  he  fancied, 
with  mastheads  swaying  athwart  the  stars,  and  a  long 
smoke-trail  that  was  a  little  more  solid  than  the  dusky 
blue  transparency  streaking  the  sea  astern  of  her. 
Jimmy  pulled  out  his  pipe  when  a  faint  cold  breeze 
fanned  his  cheek,  and  lighted  it  contentedly,  for  a 
steamboat  travels  fastest  in  smooth  water  when  what 
moving  air  there  is  blows  against  her,  and  there  was 
every  sign  of  fine  weather. 

It  lasted  several  days,  and  the  Shasta  stopped  only 
twice  at  sea :  once  to  cool  a  crank-pin,  and  again  for  a 
longer  while  because  there  was  something  wrong  with 
her  condenser.  In  due  time  she  crept  into  a  deep,  moun- 
tain-walled inlet  where  the  little  white  Sorata  lay,  and 
Jimmy  gazed  in  astonishment  when  he  saw  the  piled-up 
produce  on  the  strip  of  shingle  beach  between  still, 
green  water  and  climbing  forest.  He  was  even  more 
astonished  when  certain  bronzed  men  in  battered  wide 
hats  and  soil-stained  jean  came  off,  and  conveyed  him 
almost  by  force  to  the  rude  banquet  laid  out  in  a  little 
frame  hotel.  Hitherto  they  had  hauled  the  few  goods 
they  put  on  the  market  rather  more  than  eight  leagues 
along  an  infamous  trail  which  for  a  part  of  that  dis- 
tance led  over  a  mountain  range. 

Jimmy  feasted  that  day,  for  the  banquet  was  repeated 
with  very  little  variation  three  times  over,  and  his  last 
speech  was  very  much  to  the  purpose  as  well  as  char- 
acteristic of  him. 

"Boys,"  he  said,  "we've  steam  up,  and  in  view  of  the 
freight  we're  charging  you  Wellington  coal  is  dear. 


162  THRICE    ARMED 

Besides,  even  to  oblige  you,  I  really  couldn't  eat  any- 
thing more." 

They  paddled  him  off  in  state  in  a  big  Siwash  canoe, 
and  their  shouts  rang  far  across  the  silent  pines  when 
the  little  rusty  Shasta  crawled  away  into  the  evening 
mist;  while  long  after  it  had  hid  her  from  their  sight, 
Jimmy,  standing  on  his  bridge,  heard  the  faint  wail 
of  the  pipes.  There  was,  as  usual,  a  North  Briton 
among  them,  and  the  wild  music  of  another  land  of  rock 
and  pine  and  inlet  six  thousand  miles  away  crept  up  the 
screw-torn  wake  in  elfin  fashion.  Jimmy,  at  least,  knew 
the  burden  of  it:  "Will  ye  no'  come  back  again?" 

His  blood  tingled  a  little  as  he  listened.  They  had 
held  out  their  hands  to  him,  and  made  him  one  of  them, 
and  it  was,  he  vaguely  felt,  a  thing  to  be  proud  of,  for 
there  was  a  certain  greatness  in  these  simple,  all- 
enduring  men.  They  grappled  with  giant  forests  and 
rent  stubborn  rocks,  clearing  the  way  for  thousands  yet 
to  come,  with  limbs  that  ached  from  the  axe  stroke  and 
hands  that  bled  upon  the  drill.  They  feared  nothing, 
and  looked  for  nothing  except  the  prosperity  which 
they  would  hardly  share,  but  which  would  surely  come ; 
and  all  down  the  long  Slope  their  kind  are  perfecting  a 
manhood  that  is  probably  worth  more  than  all  the  gold, 
silver,  iron  and  wheat  raised  beneath  the  Beaver  or  the 
Stars. 

It  was  the  same  at  the  next  inlet,  for  that  trip  was 
very  much  of  the  nature  of  a  triumphal  procession, 
only  that  as  yet  the  battle  was  not  won;  and  when  at 
last  the  Shasta  turned  her  bows  southward,  she  was  full 
to  the  hatches  and  deep  in  the  water.  As  it  happened, 
she  met  a  strong  southwester,  which  piled  the  long  Pa- 


IN  DISTRESS  163 

cific  heave  upon  the  reefs  to  port  in  big  foam-crested 
walls,  and  after  the  first  twelve  hours  of  it  there  was 
scarcely  a  dry  inch  on  board  her.  She  went  into  it  with 
dipping  forecastle  that  swung  up  again  veiled  in 
cataracts  of  white  and  green  until  her  forefoot  was 
clear,  and,  with  complaining  engines,  made  scarcely 
four  knots  an  hour.  There  were  inlets  that  offered  her 
shelter,  but  hour  by  hour  Jimmy,  clinging,  battered  by 
flying  spray,  to  his  reeling  bridge,  drove  her  ahead. 
The  time  for  making  speeches,  at  which  he  did  not  shine, 
had  gone,  and  it  was  now  his  business  to  keep  the  prom- 
ise he  had  made  the  ranchers,  that  he  would  not  lose  an 
hour  in  conveying  their  produce  to  the  market.  That, 
at  least,  was  a  thing  he  could  do,  and,  though  his 
drenched  limbs  grew  stiff  and  his  eyesight  dim,  he  did  it 
with  the  dogged  thoroughness  of  his  kind,  standing 
high  in  the  stinging  drift  as  he  drove  her,  swept  and 
streaming,  at  the  tumbling  seas.  He,  too,  was  one  of 
the  enduring  toilers,  and,  like  the  invincible  men  with  the 
axes  who  had  recognized  the  stamp  he  bore,  he  found 
a  certain  grim  pleasure  in  the  conflict. 

It  was  toward  dusk  on  the  second  evening  when  they 
steamed  into  sight  of  a  little  schooner,  which  showed  as 
a  gray  smear  of  slanted  canvas  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  crag  a  couple  of  miles  to  lee  of  her.  Jimmy 
wondered  what  she  was  doing  there  in  that  weather  with 
only  one  jib  and  a  reefed  boom  foresail  set,  until  his 
glasses  showed  him  that  her  mainmast  was  broken  off. 
That  made  the  thing  clearer,  and  in  case  more  should 
be  wanted,  a  flag  fluttered  aloft  and  blew  out  half-way 
up  her  foremast  upside  down.  It  was  an  appeal  that 
is  very  seldom  made  in  vain  at  sea,  and  meant  in  that 


164)  THRICE    ARMED 

particular  case  that  she  would  be  ashore  in  an  hour  or 
two  unless  somebody  towed  her  off. 

Jimmy  closed  his  glasses  with  a  snap,  and  hailing  a 
very  wet  seaman  sent  him  for  the  engineer.  The  latter 
climbed  to  the  bridge,  and  nodded  when  he  glanced  at 
the  vessel. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you'll  have  to  take  them  off.  She's 
not  going  to  claw  off  shore  without  her  mainsail.  There 
would  be  a  little  money  in  the  thing  if  we  could  tow  her, 
but  we  can't.  I'm  taking  steep  chances  of  bringing  the 
engines  down  about  my  head  by  shoving  her  into  it  as 
I'm  doing." 

As  though  to  give  point  to  the  speech,  the  Shasta 
flung  her  stern  high  just  then,  and  shook  in  every  plate 
as  with  a  frantic  clanging  the  engines  ran  away.  Then 
she  put  her  bows  in,  and  dim  crag  and  wallowing 
schooner  were  blotted  out  by  a  cloud  of  spray. 

"We  have  got  to  try,"  said  Jimmy  quietly.  "There's 
a  point  that  would  give  us  shelter  twenty  miles  away." 

"Twenty  miles !"  and  the  engineer,  from  whose  black- 
ened singlet  the  water  streamed,  laughed  scornfully. 
"It's  'bout  as  likely  we'd  tow  her  to  Honolulu.  Still,  I 
guess  you're  skipper." 

Jimmy  nodded.  He  had  not  troubled  to  impress  the 
fact  upon  his  crew,  but  he  invariably  acted  on  it.  "You 
had  better  raise  a  little  more  steam,"  he  said;  "it 
is  very  likely  that  we'll  want  it." 

Then,  as  the  dripping  engineer  vanished  from  the 
bridge,  he  seized  the  whistle  lanyard,  and  signed  to  the 
man  behind  him  who  gripped  the  wheel.  A  deep  blast 
rent  the  turmoil  of  the  sea,  and  the  Shasta*  swinging 
around  a  trifle,  rolled  away  to  the  rescue.  It  was  some 


IN  DISTRESS  165 

twenty  minutes  later  when  she  stopped,  and  lay  plunging 
head  to  sea  with  the  little  wallowing  schooner  close 
to  lee  of  her.  The  light  was  going,  but  Jimmy  could  see 
a  shapeless  figure  that  clung  to  her  rail  gesticulating 
with  flung-up  arm.  The  wreck  of  a  boat,  apparently 
smashed  by  the  falling  mast,  lay  across  her  hatch,  and 
there  was  another  half-seen  man  at  her  wheel.  Jimmy 
stood  still  for  a  few  moments  with  his  hand  on  the  tele- 
graph, and  he  was  glad  to  remember  that  there  were  sev- 
eral former  sealing-schooner  hands  among  his  crew,  for 
what  they  do  not  know  about  boat-work  is  worth  no 
man's  learning. 

He  let  the  Shasta  swing  a  little  to  give  them  a  lee  on 
one  side  of  her,  and  while  the  sea  smote  and  spouted  in 
green  cataracts  across  her  weather-rail  they  swung  a 
boat  over,  and  two  men,  one  of  whom  was  a  Siwash, 
dropped  into  her.  That  was  enough  to  steer  her  while 
she  blew  to  windward,  and  Jimmy  dared  risk  no  more. 
They  got  her  away,  apparently  undamaged,  and  he 
sent  the  Shasta  slowly  ahead  when  she  plunged  over  a 
seatop  veiled  in  a  cloud  of  spray.  It  would  be  beyond 
the  power  of  flesh  and  blood  to  pull  that  boat  back, 
and  the  Shasta  swung  in  a  wide  half-circle  to  leeward 
of  the  schooner.  Her  crew  had  evidently  tried  to  heave 
her  to,  but  without  her  after-canvas  she  had  fallen  off 
again,  and  was  forging  ahead  with  the  Shasta's  boat 
smothered  in  foam  beneath  her  rail.  She  was  going  to 
leeward  bodily,  and  Jimmy  fancied  she  was  about  a  mile 
nearer  the  crag  than  when  he  had  first  seen  her.  It  was 
evident  to  everybody  that  he  had  no  time  to  lose. 

He  shouted  with  arm  flung  up,  and,  though  it  was 
doubtful  whether  anybody  heard  him,  the  schooner's 


166  THRICE   ARMED 

boom  foresail  came  thrashing  down,  and  two  men  who 
leapt  upon  her  rail  fell  into  the  boat.  Then  he  thrust 
down  his  telegraph,  and,  as  the  Shasta  forged  by,  the 
boat  drove  down  on  her.  She  struck  the  steamer's  hove- 
up  side  with  a  crash  that  stove  several  strakes  of  plank- 
ing in,  and  men  jumped  for  the  flung-down  lines  as  she 
filled.  They  scrambled  up  them,  four  in  all,  and,  for  one 
of  them  had  hooked  on  the  davit  falls,  the  Sha-sta's 
winch  banged  and  rattled  as  they  hove  the  boat  in  with 
the  water  streaming  out  through  her  shattered  side 
at  every  roll.  The  men  had,  however,  brought  a  rope 
with  them,  and  the  winch  next  hove  the  schooner's  stout- 
est hawser  off.  It  was  made  fast,  and  rose  splashing 
from  the  sea  when  Jimmy  touched  his  telegraph  again, 
while,  when  at  last  the  schooner  fell  into  line  astern,  a 
very  wet  man  clambered  to  the  bridge. 

"Are  you  fit  to  pull  her  out?"  he  asked. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Jimmy;  "I'm  going  to  try. 
How  did  you  get  so  far  inshore,  and  have  you  left  any- 
body to  steer  her?" 

The  man  made  a  vague  gesture.  "Mainmast  went 
beneath  the  hounds.  She's  been  driving  to  leeward 
since,  and  she'd  have  been  ashore  in  another  hour  if  we 
hadn't  fallen  in  with  you.  The  old  man's  at  her  wheel. 
Built  her  himself  'most  fifteen  years  ago,  and  nothing 
would  shift  him  out  of  her." 

Jimmy  glanced  astern,  and  for  a  few  moments  saw  a 
gray  face  of  rock  loom  out  of  the  haze  with  the  sea 
spouting  dimly  white  at  its  feet.  Then  a  thicker  fold 
of  vapor  rolled  about  it,  and  the  daylight  faded  sudden- 
ly. He.  could  scarcely  see  the  schooner  lurching  along 
behind  them  with  jib  still  set,  though  the  sail  thrashed 


IN  DISTRESS  167 

now  and  then.  Indeed,  his  eyes*  were  growing  very 
heavy,  and  he  realized  that  after  forty-eight  hours'  con- 
tinuous watching  he  could  not  keep  himself  awake  much 
longer.  A  simple  calculation  showed  him  that  it  would 
be  daylight  again  before  he  could  put  his  helm  up  and 
run  for  shelter,  when  it  would  be  imperatively  necessary 
for  him  to  be  on  his  bridge;  and  calling  his  Scandina- 
vian mate,  he  left  the  Shasta  in  his  charge. 

"Keep  her  going  as  she's  heading  now,"  he  said. 
"You'll  see  I've  headed  her  up  a  few  points  to  allow  for 
the  leeward  drag  of  the  tow.  You  can  call  me  in  a 
couple  of  hours,  or  earlier  if  there's  any  change  in  the 
weather." 

He  clawed  his  way  down  from  the  bridge  to  the  little 
room  beneath  it,  and  shed  only  his  streaming  oilskins 
before  he  flung  himself  into  his  bunk.  He  was  asleep  in 
two  or  three  minutes,  and  slept  soundly  while  the  water 
oozecK  from  his  wet  garments,  until  he  was  roused  by  a 
shouting.  Then  his  door  was  flung  open,  and  a  man 
thrust  his  head  in. 

"Mr.  Lindstrom  figures  you'd  better  get  up,"  he  said. 
"The  tow  nas  parted  her  hawser,  and  gone  adrift." 

Jimmy  was  ou.t  of  his  bunk  in  a  moment,  and  in  a 
few  more  had  scrambled  to  his  bridge.  Lindstrom,  the 
Scandinavian,  shouted  something  he  did  not  hear,  but 
that  did  not  very  much  matter,  for  the  one  question  was, 
where  was  the  schooner,  and  Jimmy  was  tolerably  cer- 
tain that  nobody  knew.  His  light  had  been  burning, 
and  for  the  first  few  moments  he  could  see  nothing  but 
blackness,  out  of  which  there  drove  continuous  showers 
of  stinging  spray.  Then  he  made  out  the  filmy  cloud 
it  sprang  from  at  the  Sh,asta's  bows,  and  swept  his  gaza 


168  THRICE    ARMED 

aloft  toward  the  pale  silver  streak  above  her  mastheads, 
which  showed  where  the  half -moon  might  come  through. 
As  he  did  so,  the  Scandinavian  gripped  his  shoulder, 
and  he  saw  a  red  twinkle  widen  into  a  wind-blown  flame 
low  down  upon  the  sea.  Now  he  could,  at  least,  locate 
the  tow. 

"Did  you  get  a  sight  of  the  beach  ?  How  far  were  we 
off?"  he  shouted. 

"A  low  point,"  said  Lindstrom,  "which  I  do  not 
know.  One  mile,  I  guess  it,  and  we  head  her  out  more 
off  shore." 

Jimmy  was  a  trifle  startled.  Though  the  water  is 
deep  along  that  coast,  a  mile  leaves  very  small  margin 
for  contingencies,  and  he  fancied  that  the  tow,  blowing 
to  leeward,  would  cover  it  in  half  an  hour.  In  that  case 
there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  what  would  then 
happen  to  her.  She  might,  perhaps,  last  five  minutes 
as  a  vessel,  for  the  reefs  are  hard  and  there  is  a  tremen- 
dous striking  force  in  the  long  Pacific  seas.  Another 
point  was  equally  clear.  He  had  some  twenty  minutes  in 
which  to  overhaul  the  schooner  and  take  her  skipper  off, 
and  no  boat  to  do  the  latter  with.  If  he  failed  to  accom- 
plish it  in  the  time,  it  was  very  probable  that  the  Shasta 
would  go  ashore,  and  he  did  not  think  that  any  one 
would  escape  by  swimming.  Still,  he  meant  to  do  what 
he  could,  and  once  more  he  set  the  whistle  shrieking  as 
he  shouted  to  the  helmsman. 

The  Shasta  came  round,  and  drove  away  into  the 
darkness,  for  the  light  had  died  out  again  and  there  was 
nothing  visible  ahead  but  the  dim  white  tops  of  frothing 
seas.  Five  minutes  passed,  and  Jimmy  felt  the  tension, 
for  they  were  steaming  toward  destruction,  and  it  was 


IN  DISTRESS  169 

quite  possible  that  they  might  run  past  the  schooner  or 
straight  over  her.  Then  a  shaft  of  moonlight  struck  the 
climbing  pines  high  up  in  front  of  him,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  that  he  was  already  almost  under  them.  He  set 
his  lips,  and  clenched  the  hand  he  would  not  raise  in 
warning  to  the  helmsman  while  the  pale  watery  moon- 
light crept  lower  and  lower.  It  rested  for  a  moment  on 
a  fringe  of  creaming  foam  where  the  rock  met  the 
water,  and  then  a  hoarse  shout  went  up,  for  as  it  swept 
toward  him  they  saw  the  schooner. 

She  was  not  far  ahead  of  them,  with  jib  thrashed  to 
ribands  and  the  sea  streaming  from  her  swung-up 
side.  Jimmy  thrust  down  his  telegraph  and  shouted  to 
Lindstrom,  who  dropped  from  the  bridge  as  they  drove 
past  her  stern.  Then,  as  he  raised  his  hand,  the  man 
behind  him  gasped  as  he  struggled  with  his  wheel,  and 
the  Shasta,  stopping,  lay  rolling  wildly  beneath  the 
schooner's  lee,  while  a  shadowy  figure  gesticulated  to 
those  on  board  her  from  her  spray-swept  rail.  Jimmy 
glanced  shoreward  over  his  shoulder  toward  the  tum- 
bling surf,  and  decided  that  he  had  at  most  five  minutes 
to  take  that  man  off.  After  that  it  would  probably  be 
too  late  for  all  of  them. 

Mercifully  the  moonlight  still  streamed  down,  and  he 
waited  with  lips  set  and  hands  clenched  on  the  telegraph 
while  the  schooner,  being  lighter,  drove  down  upon  the 
Shasta.  One  blow  might  make  an  end  of  both  of  them, 
but  something  must  be  hazarded,  and  he  spared  a  glance 
for  the  wet  men  who  crouched  upon  the  Shasta's  rail 
with  lines  in  their  hands.  He  had  smashed  one  boat  not 
long  ago,  and  the  second  and  smaller  one  had  been 


170  THRICE    ARMED 

damaged  a  week  earlier,  bringing  a  Siwash  to  take  them 
up  a  certain  inlet  off  an  unsheltered  beach. 

The  schooner  was  very  near  them,  and,  if  he  stayed 
where  he  was,  would  come  down  on  top  of  the  steamer 
in  another  minute  or  so.  Then  Lindstrom  sprang  out 
of  the  galley  with  a  blue  light  in  his  hand,  and  its 
radiance  blazed  wind-flung  and  intense  on  the  narrow- 
ing gap  of  foam  between  the  two  wildly  rolling  hulls. 
There  was  a  hoarse  shouting,  and,  though  he  might  not 
have  heard  the  words,  it  was  evident  that  the  man  on 
board  the  schooner  realized  what  he  was  expected  to  do. 
Jimmy  set  his  lips  tighter  as  he  pressed  down  the  tele- 
graph to  slow  ahead. 

The  Shasta's  propeller  thudded,  and  as  the  schooner 
reeled  toward  her  she  commenced  to  move,  and  a  black 
figure  plunged  with  flung-up  hands  from  the  latter's 
shrouds.  It  struck  the  seething  water,  and  vanished  for 
a  moment  or  two,  while  men  held  thei;  breath  and 
strained  their  eyes.  Then  there  was  a  hoarse  clamor, 
and  lines  went  whirling  down  from  the  Shasta's  rail. 
In  the  midst  of  it  black  darkness  succeeded,  as  Lind- 
strom's  light  went  out.  Jimmy  gasped,  wondering 
when  the  schooner  would  strike  them,  while  he  clenched 
his  hand  on  the  telegraph.  There  was  faint  moonlight 
still,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  touch  the  schooner,  for  his 
eyes  were  dazzled  by  the  blaze  of  the  blue  light. 

A  moment  later  another  shout  rang  out.  "He  has 
hold!  Get  down!  Can't  you  stop  her,  sir?" 

Jimmy,  knowing  what  the  hazard  was,  pressed  his 
telegraph,  and  held  his  breath  until  a  harsh  voice  rose 
again. 

"I  have  a  grip  of  him,"  it  said.     "Heave!"     We've 


IN  DISTRESS  171 

got  him,  sir.  Go  ahead;  she's  coming  down  on  the  top 
of  us !" 

Jimmy  moved  his  hand,  and  the  gong  clanged  out 
"Full-speed"  this  time,  while,  glancing  to  windward,  he 
saw  the  black  shape  of  the  schooner  hove-up  apparently 
above  him.  Still,  quivering  all  through,  the  Shasta 
forged  ahead,  and  he  leaned  on  the  rails,  for  now  that 
the  tension  had  slackened  he  felt  curiously  limp. 

"The  man's  all  right?"  he  asked. 

Lindstrom,  who  climbed  half-way  up  the  ladder,  said 
that  he  did  not  seem  to  have  suffered  very  much,  and 
Jimmy,  looking  around,  saw  nothing  of  the  schooner, 
for  there  was  sudden  darkness  as  the  moon  went  out. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS 

IT  was  in  a  state  of  quiet  contentment  that  Jimmy 
stood  on  his  bridge,  as  the  Shasta  steamed  past 
the  Stanley  pines  into  sight  of  the  clustering 
roofs  of  Vancouver.  His  first  voyage  had  been  an  un- 
qualified success  in  every  respect,  and  it  was  clear  that 
the  Shasta  had  done  considerably  more  than  cover  her 
working  expenses.  This  was  in  several  ways  a  great 
relief  to  him,  since  it  promised  to  obviate  any  difficulty 
in  providing  for  his  father's  comfort,  and  also  opened 
up  the  prospect  of  a  career  for  himself.  Jordan  had 
assured  him  before  he  sailed  that  they  would  have  no 
great  trouble  in  raising  funds  to  purchase  another  boat 
if  the  results  of  the  venture  warranted  it.  He  had  also 
said  that  since  one  thing  led  to  another,  there  was  no 
reason  why  the  Shasta  Company  should  not  run  several 
steamers  by  and  by,  in  which  case  Jimmy  would  natural- 
ly become  commodore-captain  or  general  superintend- 
ent of  the  fleet. 

As  it  happened,  Jordan  was  the  first  person  Jimmy's 
eyes  rested  on  when  he  rang  off  his  engines  as  the 
Shasta  slid  in  to  the  wharf,  and  he  climbed  on  board 
while  they  made  her  fast.  It,  however,  seemed  to  Jimmy 
that  his  movements  were  less  brisk  than  usual,  and  he 

173 


ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS  173 

was  also  dressed  in  black,  which  was  a  color  he  had  once 
or  twice  expressed  himself  in  his  comrade's  hearing  as 
having  no  use  for.  He  came  up  the  bridge-ladder  quiet- 
ly, in  place  of  scrambling  up  it  in  hot  haste,  which 
would  have  been  much  more  characteristic,  and  Jimmy 
noticed  that  there  was  a  difference  in  his  manner  when 
he  shook  hands  with  him.  The  latter's  satisfaction  com- 
menced to  melt  away,  and  a  vague  disquietude  grew 
upon  him  in  place  of  it. 

"Everything  straight  here?"  he  asked,  veiling  his 
anxiety. 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Jordan;  "that  is,  in  most  respects. 
We  have  an  outward  freight — Comox  mines — for  you. 
You'll  take  her  up  the  Straits  that  way  when  you  go 
back  again.  You  seem  to  have  her  full." 

"I  had  to  leave  a  good  many  odds  and  ends  behind, 
and  the  ranchers  expect  to  have  more  produce  for  us  in 
a  month  or  two.  One  or  two  of  them  were  talking  about 
baling  presses  and  a  small  thrashing  mill.  I've  an  in- 
quiry for  the  plant,  which  you  can  attend  to.  Another 
fellow  was  contemplating  putting  on  some  Tenas  Siwash 
to  see  whether  there  was  anything  to  be  made  out  of 
hand-split  shingles,  and  several  more  were  going  to 
plant  every  cleared  acre  with  potatoes  for  Victoria. 
I'm  to  take  up  two  of  your  mechanical  stump-grubbers 
as  soon  as  you  can  get  them.  If  we  can  keep  them 
pleased,  we'll  get  all  their  trade." 

Jordan  nodded,  without,  however,  any  sign  of  the 
eagerness  Jimmy  had  expected.  "Well,"  he  said,  "that's 
quite  satisfactory  so  far  as  it  goes.  Still,  there  are 
troubles  that  even  the  prospect  of  piling  up  money 
can't  lift  one  over." 


174  THRICE    ARMED 

"Of  course!"  said  Jimmy,  who  looked  at  him  with 
sudden  sympathy.  "Still,  I  fancied  you  told  ins  you 
had  no  near  relatives.  What. are  you  wearing  those 
clothes  for?" 

His  comrade  laid  a  hand  on  his  shoulder.  "It's  a 
thing  I  shouldn't  have  done  on  my  own  account.  I  did 
it — steady,  Jimmy,  you  have  to  face  it — to  please  your 
sister." 

"Ah!"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  sharp  indrawing  of  his 
breath,  and  leaned  on  the  bridge-rails  for  a  moment 
or  two.  His  lips  quivered,  and  Jordan  saw  him  clench 
his  hard  brown  hands.  Busy  wharf  and  climbing  city 
faded  from  before  his  eyes,  and  he  was  sensible  only  of 
a  curious  numbing  stupor  that  for  the  time  being  ban- 
ished grief.  Then  he  felt  his  comrade's  grasp  grow 
tighter. 

"Brace  up!"  said  Jordan.  "It's  a  thing  we  have, 
all  of  us,  to  stand  up  under." 

Jimmy  straightened  himself  slowly,  while  the  color 
paled  in  his  face. 

"When  did  it  happen — and  how?"  he  asked. 

"Last  night.  The  doctor  had  been  round  once  or 
twice  since  you  went  away,  and  I  understood  from  what 
Prescott  said  that  he  was  getting  along  satisfactorily — 
that  is,  physically." 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  but  looked  at  him  with  hard, 
questioning  eyes. 

"Well,  it  appears  he  was  worrying  himself  consider- 
ably. Told  Prescott  it  was  a  pity  he  couldn't  die  right 
away.  Nobody  had  any  use  for  him,  and  he  didn't 
want  to  be  a  burden.  Seems  he  went  over  it  quite 
often.  The  doctor  had  cut  him  off  from  the  whisky." 


ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS  175 

He  stopped,  with  evident  embarrassment  and  pain  in 
his  face;  but  Jimmy's  eyes  never  wavered,  though  a 
creeping  horror  came  upon  him.  In  spite  of  the  diffi- 
culty he  had  in  thinking,  he  felt  that  he  had  not  yet 
heard  all. 

"Go  on,"  he  said  in  a  low,  harsh  voice. 

"I  don't  think  I  could  have  told  you,  only  it  would 
have  fallen  on  Eleanor  if  I  hadn't,  and  she  has  as  much 
as  she  can  bear.  You'll  keep  that  in  mind,  won't  you, 
Jimmy?  He  got  some  whisky — we  don't  know  how — 
one  of  the  wharf -hands  who  used  to  look  in  bought  it 
for  him,  most  probably.  Prescott  had  to  go  out  now 
and  then,  you  see." 

He  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  made  a  little  gesture 
of  sympathy  before  he  went  on  again.  "Somehow  he 
fell  over  the  table,  and  the  kerosene  lamp  went  over  with 
it  too.  When  one  of  the  neighbors  who  heard  him  call 
went  in  nobody  could  have  done  anything  for  him." 

The  last  trace  of  color  ebbed  from  Jimmy's  face,  and 
he  stood  very  still,  with  set  lips  and  tightly  clenched 
hands.  Then  he  turned  aside  with  a  groan  of  horror. 

"Lord!"  he  said  hoarsely.  "That,  at  least,  might 
have  been  spared  him." 

In  another  moment  he  swung  around  on  his  comrade 
almost  savagely,  with  a  bitter  laugh.  "And  you  want 
to  marry  my  sister  Eleanor?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jordan  ;  "just  as  soon  as  it  can  decently 
be  done.  Jimmy,  you  daren't  blame  him." 

"Blame  him !"  and  Jimmy's  voice  was  strained.  "If 
I  had  had  his  load  to  carry  and  felt  it  as  he  did,  I  should 
probably  have  gone  under  long  ago." 

He  leaned  heavily  on  the  rail  for  a  minute  or  two,  and 


176  THRICE    ARMED 

then,  apparently  rousing  himself  with  an  effort,  turned 
toward  his  comrade.  "As  you  say,  I  must  stand  up  to 
it.  How  is  Eleanor  bearing  it?" 

"Quietly — too  quietly.  I'm  'most  afraid  of  her. 
She's  here — I  went  over  to  Forster's  for  her.  Insists 
on  staying  in  the  house.  I'll  send  somebody  around  with 
your  papers,  and  then  go  along  with  you." 

Five  minutes  later  they  went  ashore  together,  and  it 
was  falling  dusk  when  they  reached  a  little  four-roomed 
frame-house  which  stood  near  a  row  of  others  of  very 
much  the  same  kind  amidst  the  tall  fir-stumps  which 
straggled  up  a  rise  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  It 
was  such  a  one  as  the  few  wharf  and  sawmill  hands  who 
were  married  usually  lived  in — comfortless,  primitive, 
and  rickety.  Jimmy  remembered  how  he  had  deter- 
mined when  he  sailed  south  with  the  Shasta  full  to  the 
hatches  that  his  father  should  not  stay  another  month 
in  it. 

He  was  almost  startled  when  his  sister  led  them  into 
the  little  general  room,  for  it  was  evident  that  there  had 
been  a  great  change  in  her.  That,  at  least,  was  how  he 
regarded  it  then,  but  afterward  he  understood  that  it 
was  only  something  which  had  been  in  her  nature  all 
the  time  making  itself  apparent.  He  did  not  remem- 
ber whether  she  kissed  him,  but  she  sat  down  and  looked 
at  him  with  the  light  of  the  lamp  upon  her,  while  Jimmy, 
who  could  find  nothing  at  all  to  say,  gazed  at  her. 

Eleanor  had  already  provided  herself  with  somber 
garments,  and  they  emphasized  the  severity  of  contour 
of  her  supple  figure.  They  also  forced  up  the  pallor  of 
her  face,  which  was  relieved  only  by  a  faint  blotch  of 
color  in  either  cheek,  and,  in  spite  of  this,  in  a  curious 


ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS  177 

fashion  made  her  beautiful.  Jimmy  had  hitherto  ad- 
mitted that  his  sister  was  pretty,  but,  as  he  recognized, 
that  word  was  not  the  right  one  now.  She  was  im- 
perious, dominant,  a  force  embodied  in  a  woman's  shape, 
and  her  brother  was  vaguely  conscious  that  he  shrank 
a  little  from  her.  Eleanor  did  not  seem  to  want  his 
sympathy.  The  coldness  of  her  face  repelled  him,  the 
fastidious  neatness  of  her  gold-bronze  hair  appeared 
unnatural,  and  her  pale-blue  eyes  had  a  hard  glitter 
like  that  of  a  diamond  in  them.  It  was  evident  that 
in  place  of  being  crushed,  she  was  filled  with  an  intense 
suppressed  virility.  Indeed,  there  was  something  in 
her  appearance  and  manner  that  was  suggestive  of  a 
beautifully  tempered  spring,  one  that  would  fly  back 
the  moment  the  strain  slackened,  and,  perhaps,  cut  deep 
into  the  hand  that  compressed  it.  It  was  the  girl  who 
spoke  first,  and  her  voice  had  a  certain  incisive  quality 
in  its  evenness. 

"Charley  has  told  you,"  she  said ;  "I  can  see  that  by 
your  face.  He  insisted  on  doing  so  to  save  me.  Well, 
I  am  grateful,  Charley — that  is,  as  grateful  as  I  am 
capable  of  being — but  I  will  not  keep  you." 

Jordan  looked  disconcerted.  "Can't  you  let  me  stay? 
There  are  one  or  two  ways  in  which  I  could  be  of 
service." 

Eleanor  made  a  little  imperious  sign,  and,  though 
Jimmy  once  more  found  it  difficult  to  realize  that  this 
woman,  whose  coldness  suggested  a  white-heat  of  pas- 
sion, was  his  sister,  he  was  not  altogether  astonished 
when  Jordan  slowly  rose. 

"Then  I'm  going  no  farther  than  the  first  fir-stump 


178  THRICE    ARMED 

that's  low  enough  to  make  a  seat,"  he  said.     "If  I'm 
wanted,  Jimmy  has  only  to  come  out  and  call." 

He  went  out,  and  Eleanor  .turned  to  her  brother.  "I 
am  afraid  Charley  is  going  to  be  sorry  I  promised  to 
marry  him,"  she  said.  "Still,  I  think  I  am  fond  of  him, 
or  I  might  have  been,  if  this  horrible  thing  hadn't  come 
between  us.  It  is  horrible,  Jimmy — one  of  the  things 
after  which  one  can  never  be  quite  the  same.  I  have  a 
good  deal  to  say  to  you — but  you  must  see  him." 

Jimmy  made  a  sign  of  concurrence,  and  his  sister 
rose.  "First  of  all,  there  is  something  else.  It  is  a  hard 
thing,  but  it  must  be  done." 

She  turned  to  a  cupboard,  and,  taking  out  a  bottle  of 
corn  whisky,  laid  it  before  him  with  a  composure  that 
jarred  on  the  man.  Her  portentous  quietness  troubled 
him  far  more  than  a  flood  of  tears  or  a  wild  outbreak 
would  have  done.  Then  she  laid  her  finger  on  the  out- 
side of  the  bottle,  as  though  to  indicate  how  much  had 
been  taken  out  of  it. 

"I  think  that  accounts  for  everything,"  she  said. 
"Still,  he  was  driven  to  it.  I  want  you  to  remember  that 
as  long  as  you  and  the  man  who  is  responsible  live. 
Prescott  knows,  and  Charley — I  had  to  tell  him.  But 
nobody  else  must  ever  dream  of  it." 

"Of  course  you  had  to  tell  Charley,"  said  Jimmy 
hoarsely.  "Still,  the  inquest?" 

A  scornful  glitter  crept  into  Eleanor's  eyes.  "That 
you  will  leave  to  me.  I  have  been  drilling  Prescott  as 
to  what  he  is  to  say,  and  if  they  question  Charley,  who 
got  here  before  the  doctor  when  Prescott  sent  for  him, 
he  will  stand  by  me." 

Jimmy  looked  somewhat  startled ;  but  when  he  strove 


ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS  179 

to  frame  his  thoughts  the  girl  silenced  him.  "If  it 
were  necessary  to  corrupt  everybody  who  had  ever  been 
acquainted  with  him,  and  I  could  do  it — at  any  cost — it 
would  be  done.  Now" — and  she  quietly  took  up  the 
lamp — "you  will  come  with  me." 

Jimmy  shivered  a  little  as  he  went  with  her  into  the 
adjoining  room,  and  set  his  lips  tight  when  with  a 
steady  hand  she  drew  the  coverlet  down.  Then,  while 
his  eyes  grew  a  trifle  hazy,  he  drew  in  a  little  breath  of 
relief,  for  Tom  Wheelock  lay  white  and  serene  at  last, 
with  closed  eyes  and  no  sign  of  pain  in  his  quiet  face, 
from  which  all  the  weariness  had  vanished.  Only  a  clean 
linen  bandage,  which  ran  from  one  temple  to  behind 
the  other  ear,  was  laid  upon  it.  There  was  nothing  that 
one  could  shrink  from,  and  Jimmy  made  a  gesture  of 
protest  when  Eleanor  laid  her  hand  on  the  bandage. 

She  met  his  eyes  with  something  that  suggested  con- 
tempt in  hers,  and  quietly  drew  back  the  bandage,  and 
then  the  soft  white  sheet  from  the  shoulder  of  the  rigid 
figure.  Jimmy  sickened  suddenly,  and  seized  her  arm 
in  a  constraining  grasp. 

"Put  it  back !"  he  said.  "That  is  enough — enough,  I 
tell  you!" 

Then,  while  the  girl  obeyed  him,  he  turned  from  her 
with  a  groan,  gasped  once  or  twice,  and  sat  down 
limply.  He  could  not  look  around  again  until  her  task 
was  concluded,  and  he  would  not  look  at  her.  It  seemed 
an  almost  interminable  time  before  she  spoke. 

"Still,"  she  said,  "you  must  look  at  him  again;  I 
should  like  you  to  remember  him  as  he  is  now.  Perhaps 
you  can,  Jimmy,  but  that  relief  is  not  for  me." 

Jimmy  rose,  and  in  another  few  moments  turned  his 


180  THRICE    ARMED 

head  away.  He  stood  still,  with  a  whirl  of  confused 
emotions  that  left  him  half-dazed  rioting  within  him, 
while  he  glanced  vacantly  round  the  room.  It  was 
scantily  furnished,  and  generally  comfortless  and  mean. 
Long  smears  of  resinous  matter  exuded  from  the  rough 
frame  boarding  of  its  walls,  and  there  were  shrinkage 
rents  in  part  of  it  that  let  the  cool  night  air  in.  In  one 
place  he  could  see  where  a  drip  from  the  shingle  roof 
had  spread  into  a  wide  damp  patch  on  the  uncovered 
floor,  and  it  seemed  an  almost  insufferable  thing  that  his 
father  should  have  spent  his  last  days  in  such  surround- 
ings. Then  he  glanced  at  Eleanor,  standing  a  rigid, 
somber  figure  with  the  lamp  in  her  hand,  and  it  seemed 
that  she  guessed  what  he  was  thinking. 

"It  does  not  matter  now — -but  he  was  once  considered 
a  prosperous  man,"  she  said.  "The  contrast  was  one  of 
the  things  he  never  complained  of;  but  I  think  he  felt 
it." 

Jimmy  turned  and  went  out  with  her,  and,  sitting 
down  in  the  adjoining  room,  she  looked  at  him  with 
the  quietness  he  was  commencing  to  shrink  from.  She 
seemed  to  understand  that,  too. 

"You  think  I  am  unnatural,"  she  said.  "Perhaps  you 
are  right — but  even  if  you  are,  what  does  it  matter? 
Still,  I  believe  I  was  fonder  of  him  than  you  ever  were. 
If  I  hadn't  been,  could  I  have  done  all  this  for  you  and 
him?" 

She  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  the  hard  gleam  flashed 
back  into  her  pale-blue  eyes.  "He  was  horribly  burned, 
Jimmy,  and  until  the  last  few  minutes  crazed  with 
drink  and  pain.  Still,  he  was  driven  to  his  death  and 
degradation." 


ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS  181 

Jimmy  only  gazed  at  her  with  a  tightening  of  his 
lips,  and  the  girl  went  on  in  the  clear,  incisive  tones  that 
so  jarred  on  him.  "I  think  it  was  more  than  murder. 
Can  you  remember  him  as  anything  but  abstemious,  and 
only  unwise  in  his  easy  kindliness,  until  the  man  who 
crushed  him  held  him  in  his  clutches?  Weak!  There 
are  people  who  would  tell  you  that,  and  perhaps  he  was. 
It  was  the  load  he  had  to  bear  made  him  so.  Try  to 
remember  him,  Jimmy,  as  he  used  to  be — brave  and 
gentle,  devoted  to  your  mother  and  mine ;  the  man  who, 
they  said,  never  ran  for  shelter  in  the  fiercest  breeze  of 
wind.  Try — I  want  you  to." 

Jimmy  turned  to  her  abruptly,  moistening  his  dry 
lips  with  his  tongue.  "Eleanor,  have  done;  I  can't 
stand  any  more." 

"You  must ;"  and  the  girl  laughed  harshly.  "I  hold 
that  he  was  murdered.  Is  there  any  real  distinction 
between  the  man  who  holds  you  up  with  a  pistol  and  kills 
you  for  your  money,  suddenly  and,  in  one  way,  merci- 
fully, and  the  one  who  with  cold  cunning  slowly  sucks 
your  blood  until  he  has  drained  the  last  drop  out  of 
you?  Still,  that  is  not  all.  If  he  had  only  died  as 
most  men  die.  You  must  remember  the  upset  lamp  and 
the  whisky,  Jimmy." 

"Stop !"  said  Jimmy  hoarsely,  clenching  a  brown  hand 
while  the  perspiration  started  from  him.  "I  can't  stand 
it!  It  is  horrible,  Eleanor!  You  are  a  woman — you 
have  promised  to  marry  my  comrade." 

The  girl  rose,  and,  crossing  to  where  he  sat,  laid  a 
hand  on  his  shoulder  as  she  looked  down  at  him.  "I 
feel  all  that  you  feel,  with  a  greater  intensity ;  but  I  can 
bear  it,  and  you  must  bear  it  too.  Charley  will  not  com- 


182  THRICE    ARMED 

plain,  and  I  would  be  his  slave  or  mistress  as  long  as 
he  would  stand  by  me  until  I  carry  out  my  purpose. 
He  is  only  my  lover,  but  you  are  Tom  Wheelock's  son. 
What  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

"What  can  I  do?"  and  Jimmy  made  a  little  hopeless 
gesture.  "Perhaps  it  would  be  only  justice,  but  I  can't 
waylay  Merril  with  a  pistol.  The  man  has  no  human 
nature  in  him.  I  couldn't  even  provoke  him  to  strike 
me." 

"No,"  said  Eleanor,  with  a  bitter  laugh ;  "that  would 
be  foolishly  theatrical,  and  in  one  way  too  easy.  It 
would  not  satisfy  me.  You  will  wait,  ever  so  long  if  it's 
necessary,  and  command  the  Shasta  while  you  take  his 
trade  away.  Then  we  will  find  other  means — business 
means ;  it  can,  I  think,  be  done.  He  must  be  slowly 
drained  and  ruined,  and  flung  aside,  a  broken  man,  as 
your  father  was.  Then  it  would  not  matter  whether  he 
dies  or  not." 

Jimmy  shrank  from  her  a  little,  and  she  smiled  as  she 
noticed  it.  "There  is  a  good  deal  of  our  mother's  nature 
in  both  of  us,  and  you  cannot  get  away  from  it.  It 
will  make  you  a  man,  Jimmy,  in  spite  of  all  your 
amiable  qualities." 

"Still,"  said  Jimmy  vaguely,  "one  has  to  be  practical. 
I'm  afraid  it  isn't  easy  to  ruin  a  man  like  Merril  just 
because  you  would  like  to — I've  met  him,  you  see.  The 
Shasta  Company  was  not  started  with  that  purpose 
either,  and  it  was  only  because  Jordan  is  a  friend  of 
mine  that  I  was  put  in  as  skipper." 

"Didn't  old  Leeson  say  that  the  Shasta  Company 
would  never  have  been  formed  if  it  hadn't  been  for  me? 
It  is  a  struggling  little  company,  and  Merril  is  a  big 


ELEANOR'S  BITTERNESS  183 

man,  and  apparently  rich ;  but  there  are  often  chances 
for  the  men  with  nerve  enough." 

Jimmy  rose.  "If  one  ever  comes  ini  my  way,  I  shall 
try  to  profit  by  it.  That  is  all  I  can  say.  I'm  a  little 
dazed,  Eleanor.  I  think  I'll  go  out  and  try  to  clear  my 
brain  again.  You  won't  mind?  I  hear  Prescott." 

He  met  Prescott  in  the  doorway,  and  walking  past  the 
few  frame-houses  found  Jordan  sitting,  cigar  in  hand, 
upon  a  big  fir-stump.  When  Jimmy  stopped  beside  him 
he  made  a  little  sign  of  comprehension  and  sympathy. 

"I  guess  I  know  what  Eleanor  has  told  you,"  he  said. 
"In  one  way,  it's  not  astonishing  that  she  should  feel 
what  she  does,  and  I  can't  blame  her,  though  it's  a  little 
rough  on  me.  This  is  a  thing  she'll  never  quite  get  over 
— while  the  other  man  lives  prosperous,  anyway — and, 
of  course,  I'm  standing  in  with  her." 

"But  it's  not  your  affair." 

"It's  Eleanor's,  and  that  counts  with  me.  Besides, 
I'm  not  fond  of  Merril  either." 

Jimmy  was  touched  by  the  man's  devotion,  but  once 
more  he  could  find  nothing  apposite  to  say,  and  Jordan 
went  on: 

"Sometimes,  as  I  told  you,  I'm  a  little  afraid  of 
Eleanor,  and  perhaps  that's  why  I  like  her.  It  seems 
to  me  you  never  quite  understood  your  sister.  Your 
mother  made  the  Wheelock  fleet,  and  it's  quite  likely 
that  Eleanor's  going  to  make  the  Shasta  Shipping  Com- 
pany. I'm  no  slouch,  but  she  has  more  brains  than 
you  and  I  and  old  Leeson  rolled  together.  Now,  you 
want  to  rouse  yourself,  and  she  has  Prescott  with  her. 
You'll  walk  down  to  the  steamer  with  me." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

UNDER    EESTEAINT 

AUSTERLY,  who  was  essentially  English  and  a 
servant    of    the    Crown,    somewhat    naturally 
lived  outside  the  boundaries  of  Vancouver.    He 
had  the  tastes  and  prejudices  of  his  class,  and  did  not 
like  the  life  most  men  lead  in  the  Western  cities,  which 
is  in  some  respects  communistic  and  without  privacy. 
Even  those  of  some  standing,  with  a  house  of  their 
own,  not  infrequently  use  it  only  to  sleep  in,  and  take 
their  meals  at  a  hotel,  while,  should  they  retire  to  their 
own  dwelling  in  the  evening,  they  are  scarcely  likely  to 
enjoy  the  quietness  the  insular  Englishman  as  a  rule 
delights  in.     People  walk  in  and  out  casually  until  late 
at  night,  and  a  certain  proportion  of  them  are  chron- 
ically thirsty.     This,  in  case  of  a  business  man,  has  its 
advantages  as  well  as  its  drawbacks,  but  Austerly  only 
recognized  the  latter.     He  said  it  was  like  living  in  the 
street,  and  he  did  not  appreciate  being  called  on  at 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  by  men  of  doubtful  character 
whom  he  had  met  for  the  first  time  a  few  days  before. 
He  accordingly  retired  to  a  retreat  that  one  of  his 
predecessors  had  built  outside  the  city,  which  shades 
off  on  that  side  from  stone  and  steel  through  gradations 
of  frame-houses  and  rickety  shanties  into  a  wilderness 

184 


UNDER   RESTRAINT  185 

of  blackened  fir-stumps.  The  Western  cities  lie  open, 
and  though  the  life  in  them  is  more  suggestive  of  that 
of  Paris  than  the  staidness  of  an  English  town,  they 
have  neither  gate  nor  barrier,  and  are  usually  ready  to 
welcome  all  who  care  to  enter:  strong-armed  men  who 
limp  in,  red  with  dust,  in  dilapidated  shoes,  as  well  as 
purchasers  of  land  and  commercial  enterprise  direct- 
ors. They  have,  it  frequently  happens,  need  of  the 
one,  and  a  bonus  instead  of  taxes  to  offer  the  other, 
who  may  purpose  to  set  up  mills  and  workshops  within 
their  borders. 

Austerly,  however,  was  not  altogether  a  recluse,  and 
it  came  about  one  evening  that  Jimmy,  who  had  arrived 
there  with  a  few  other  guests,  sat  beside  Anthea  Merril 
in  the  garden  of  his  house.  The  sunlight  still  shone 
upon  the  struggling  grass,  to  which  neither  money  nor 
labor  could  impart  much  resemblance  to  an  English 
lawn,  but  great  pines  and  cedars  walled  it  in,  and  one 
caught  entrancing  vistas  of  shining  water  and  coldly 
gleaming  snow  through  the  openings  between  their 
mighty  trunks.  The  evening  was  hot  and  still,  the  air 
heavy  with  the  ambrosial  odors  of  the  forest,  and  the 
dying  roar  of  a  great  freight  train  that  came  throbbing 
out  of  its  dim  recesses  emphasized  the  silence.  The  little 
house  rose,  gay  with  painted  scroll-work  and  relieved 
by  its  trellises  and  wooden  pillars,  beneath  the  dark 
cedar  branches  across  the  lawn.  Jimmy  had  seen  Valen- 
tine and  Miss  Austerly  sitting  on  the  veranda  a  few 
minutes  earlier.  He  was,  however,  just  then  looking 
at  his  companion,  and  wondering  whether  in  spite  of 
the  pleasure  it  afforded  him  he  had  been  wise  in  coming 
there  at  all. 


186  THRICE    ARMED 

Anthea  was  dressed  richly,  in  a  fashion  which  it 
seemed  to  him  became  her  wonderfully  well,  and  he  was 
quite  aware  that  the  few  minutes  he  had  now  spent  in 
her  company  would  be  sufficient  to  render  him  restless 
during  the  remainder  of  the  week.  Jimmy  had  discov- 
ered that  while  it  was  difficult  to  resolve  that  he  would 
think  no  more  of  her,  it  was  considerably  harder  to 
carry  out  the  prudent  decision. 

"It  is  some  little  time  since  I  saw  you  last,"  she  said. 

"Four  weeks,"  said  Jimmy  promptly.  "That  is,  it 
would  be  if  this  were  to-morrow." 

Anthea  smiled,  though  she  naturally  noticed  that 
there  was  a  certain  significance  in  this  accuracy.  Jimmy 
realized  it  too,  for  he  added  a  trifle  hastily :  "The  fact 
that  it  was  just  before  the  Shasta  went  to  sea  fixed  it 
in  my  mind." 

"Of  course!"  and  Anthea  laughed.  "That  would, 
no  doubt,  account  for  it.  Are  your  after-thoughts 
always  as  happy,  Captain  Wheelock?" 

Jimmy  felt  a  little  uncomfortable.  Her  good-humor, 
in  which  there  was  nothing  incisive,  was,  he  felt,  in  one 
way  a  sufficient  rebuff,  though  he  could  not  tell  whether 
she  had  meant  it  as  such.  It  was  also  disconcerting  to 
discover  that  she  had  evidently  followed  the  train  of 
reasoning  which  had  led  to  the  remark,  though  this  was 
a  thing  she  seemed  addicted  to  doing.  After  all,  there 
are  men  who  fail  to  understand  that  in  certain  cir- 
cumstances it  is  not  insuperably  difficult  for  a  woman 
to  tell  their  thoughts  before  they  express  them. 

"I'm  afraid  I  don't  excel  at  that  kind  of  thing,"  he 
said.  "It's  perhaps  fortunate  my  friends  realize  it." 

Anthea  turned  and  looked  at  him  with  reposeful  eyes. 


UNDER   RESTRAINT  187 

"Well,"  she  said  reflectively,  "I  almost  fancied  you  were 
not  particularly  pleased  to  see  me.  You  had,  at  least, 
very  little  to  say  at  dinner." 

Jimmy,  to  his  annoyance,  felt  the  blood  rise  to  his 
forehead.  He  had  sense  enough  to  see  that  his  com- 
panion did  not  intend  this  to  be  what,  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances, is  sometimes  called  encouraging.  He  was 
not  a  brilliant  man;  but  it  is,  after  all,  very  seldom 
that  an  extra-master's  certificate  or  a  naval  reserve 
commission  is  held  by  a  fool.  Anthea  had,  he  felt, 
merely  asked  him  a  question,  and  he  could  not  tell  her 
that  he  would  have  avoided  her  only  because  he  felt 
afraid  that  the  delight  he  found  in  her  company  might 
prove  too  much  for  his  self-restraint. 

"Still,"  he  said,  somewhat  inanely,  "how  could  I? 
You  were  talking  to  that  Englishman  all  the  time." 

"Burnell?"  said  Anthea.  "Yes,  I  suppose  I  was. 
He  and  his  wife  are  rather  old  friends  of  mine.  They 
have  just  come  from  Honolulu,  and  talk  about  taking 
the  yacht  up  to  Alaska.  In  that  case,  they  want  Nellie 
and  me  to  go  with  them." 

Jimmy  remembered  the  beautiful  white  steam-yacht 
which  had  passed  the  Shasta  on  her  way  to  Vancouver  a 
day  or  two  ago,  and  was  sensible  of  a  vague  relief  that 
was  at  the  same  time  not  quite  free  from  concern.  If 
Anthea  went  to  Alaska,  it  was  certain  that  he  would  have 
no  opportunity  for  meeting  her  for  a  considerable  time. 
That  was,  in  one  way,  what  he  desired,  but  it  by  no 
means  afforded  him  the  satisfaction  he  felt  it  should 
have  done.  She  did  not,  however,  appear  inclined  to 
dwell  upon  the  subject. 

"I  think  I  ought  to  congratulate  you  on  what  you 


188  THRICE    ARMED 

did  a  few  weeks  ago,"  she  said.  "I  read  the  schooner- 
man's  narrative  in  the  paper." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "If  I  had  known  he  was  going  to 
tell  that  tale,  I  almost  fancy  I  should  have  left  him 
where  he  was ;  but,  after  all,  I  scarcely  think  he  did. 
Seas  of  the  kind  mentioned  could  exist  only  in  a  news- 
paperman's imagination." 

The  girl  smiled,  for,  though  what  she  thought  did  not 
appear,  she  saw  the  shade  of  darker  color  in  his  face, 
and  Jimmy  was  very  likeable  in  his  momentary  confu- 
sion. Now  and  then  his  ingenuous  nature  revealed  itself 
in  spite  of  his  restraint,  but  nobody  ever  shrank  from 
a  glimpse  of  it,  for  he  had  in  him,  as  Anthea  had  seen, 
something  of  the  largeness  and  openness  of  the  sea. 

"Still,"  she  said,  "I  heard  one  or  two  men  who  under- 
stand such  things  talking  about  it,  and  they  seemed  to 
agree  that  it  needed  nerve  and  courage  to  take  the 
schooner  skipper  off  without  wrecking  your  vessel ;  but 
you  are,  perhaps,  right  about  the  imagination  of  the 
men  who  serve  such  papers." 

Jimmy  noticed  the  trace  of  half-contemptuous  anger 
in  her  face  and  voice,  and  fancied  he  understood  it. 
He  had,  of  course,  seen  the  issue  of  the  paper  in  ques- 
tion, and  had  read  close  beneath  the  schooner-man's 
account  of  his  rescue  a  bitter  and  plainly  worded  at- 
tack upon  his  companion's  father.  Merril  was  a  politi- 
cal as  well  as  a  commercial  influence,  and  journalists 
in  that  country  do  not  shrink  from  personalities.  He 
felt,  by  the  way  she  glanced  at  him,  that  she  knew  he 
had  done  so. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  though  he  had  not  spoken,  "you 
understand  what  I  am  alluding  to.  Still,  I  suppose 


UNDER   RESTRAINT  189 

anybody  who  does  all  he  can  for  the  Province  must 
expect  to  be  misrepresented." 

Jimmy's  face  grew  a  trifle  hard.  He  did  not  know 
exactly  what  she  expected  from  him,  but  even  to  please 
her  he  would  not  admit  that  the  man  who  had  seized  the 
Tyee  could  be  misrepresented  in  any  way,  unless,  indeed, 
somebody  held  him  up  as  a  pattern  of  virtue. 

"I  suppose  your  father  denied  the  statements?"  he 
said.  "I  have,  of  course,  been  away." 

"No,"  replied  Anthea ;  "it  was  scarcely  worth  while. 
After  all,  very  few  people  would  consider  the  thing 
seriously." 

She  turned  to  him  again  with  an  inquiring  glance, 
and  there  was  a  certain  insistency  in  her  tone.  "Of 
course,  that  ought  to  be  clear  to  anybody." 

Jimmy  met  her  glance  steadily,  and  set  his  lips  as  he 
usually  did  when  he  was  stirred,  and  he  was  stirred 
rather  deeply  then.  Still,  nothing  would  have  induced 
him  to  say  a  word  in  Merril's  favor.  Then  it  seemed 
to  him  that  the  girl's  expression  changed.  He  could 
almost  have  fancied  there  was  a  suggestion  of  appeal  in 
her  eyes,  as  though  she  would  have  liked  him  to  consti- 
tute himself  her  ally,  and,  indeed,  had  half-expected  it. 
It  set  his  heart  beating,  and  sent  a  little  thrill  through 
him,  for  in  that  moment  it  was  clear  that  she  wished  to 
believe  altogether  in  her  father,  and  would  value  any 
support  that  he  could  offer  her.  In  other  circum- 
stances it  would  have  been  a  delight  to  take  up  the 
cause  of  any  of  her  kin,  whatever  it  might  have  cost 
him,  but  just  then  he  was  conscious  of  a  bitter  hatred 
of  the  man  in  question,  and  Jimmy  was'  in  all  things 
honest. 


190  THRICE    ARMED 

"I'm  afraid  I  don't  know  how  people  are  likely  to 
regard  it,"  he  said.  "You  see,  I  am  almost  a  stranger 
in  the  Province.  I  have  been  away  so  long." 

Anthea  appeared  to  assent  to  this,  but  Jimmy  realized 
that  she  felt  that  he  had  failed  her.  Still,  the  thing 
was  done,  and  he  would  not  have  done  it  differently 
had  another  opportunity  been  afforded  him. 

"Well,"  she  said  slowly,  "there  is  something  I  want 
to  mention.  I  fancy  Mr.  Burnell  has  a  favor  to  ask  of 
you  this  evening,  and  it  might,  perhaps,  be  wise  to 
oblige  him.  He  can  be  a  very  good  friend,  as  I  have 
reason  to  know,  and  though  he  may  not  mention  this, 
he  is,  one  understands,  rather  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
Directorate  of  the Mail  Company." 

For  a  few  moments  Jimmy  was  troubled  by  an  un- 
pleasant sense  of  confusion.  The  man's  name  was 
famous  in  the  shipping  world,  and  there  were  a  good 
many  aspiring  steamboat  officers  who  sought  his  good- 
will, while,  since  he  could  not  have  heard  of  Jimmy 
until  a  day  or  two  ago,  it  was  evident  that  somebody 
in  Vancouver  City  had  spoken  in  his  favor.  Jimmy 
fancied  he  knew  who  this  must  be,  and  it  was  but  a 
minute  or  two  since  he  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
girl's  appeal.  Then  he  roused  himself,  as  he  saw  her 
curious  smile. 

"So  that  is  the  famous  man?"  he  said.  "I  should 
never  have  imagined  it." 

Anthea  laughed  as  she  rose;  but  before  she  moved 
away,  she  turned  to  him  confidentially.  "I  really  think," 
she  said,  "you  should  do  what  he  asks  you." 

Then  she  left  him,  and  it  was  some  minutes  later  when 


UNDER   RESTRAINT  191 

a  little,  quiet  Englishman  strolled  in  that  direction, 
cigar  in  hand.  He  sat  down  by  Jimmy. 

"I  don't  know  whether  I'm  presuming,  but  I  believe 
you  are  duly  qualified  to  take  command  of  a  British 
steamer  and  are  acquainted  with  the  northwest  coast?" 
he  said. 

Jimmy  said  he  had  not  been  far  north ;  and  Burnell 
appeared  to  reflect  for  a  moment  or  two. 

"After  all,"  he  said,  "I  don't  suppose  that  matters  so 
very  much.  I'm  in  rather  a  difficulty,  and  you  may  be 
able  to  do  something  for  me.  We  lost  our  skipper,  and 
my  mate  and  several  of  the  crew  have  taken  leave  of  me 
here  unceremoniously.  I  wish  to  ask  if  you  would  take 
the  yacht  up  to  Alaska  for  me,  and  afterward  home 
again.  I  should  naturally  be  prepared  to  offer  whatever 
salary  is  obtainable  here  by  a  duly  qualified  skipper,  and 
as  several  of  my  friends  are  also  yours,  you  would,  of 
course,  continue  to  meet  them  on  that  footing  while 
you  were  on  board." 

"There  is  one  point,"  said  Jimmy.  "The  arrangement 
would  necessarily  be  a  temporary  one." 

"I  fancied  you  would  raise  it.  Well,  it  would  per- 
haps be  a  little  premature  to  say  very  much  just  now; 
but  I  did  not  come  to  Vancouver  entirely  on  pleasure. 
In  fact,  it  is  likely  that  we  shall  shortly  attempt  to 
cut  into  the  American  South-Sea  trade,  in  which  case 
we  should  want  commanders  for  a  4000-ton  boat  or 
two  from  this  city.  If  not,  I  almost  think  I  can 
promise  that  you  would  not  suffer  from  serving  me. 
I  may  mention  that  your  friends  speak  of  you  very 
favorably." 

Jimmy  thought  hard  for  a  minute  or  two.    It  was  a 


192  THRICE    ARMED 

very  tempting  offer,  and  wages  out  of  that  port  were 
excellent  just  then.  What  was  more  to  the  purpose, 
it  promised  to  send  him  back  to  the  liners,  where  a  com- 
mander was  a  person  of  some  consequence,  and,  be- 
sides this,  Anthea  had  told  him  that  she  was  in  all 
probability  going  to  Alaska.  Then  he  reluctantly 
shook  his  head. 

"I'm  afraid  I  can't  close  with  you,  sir,"  he  said.  "The 
fact  is,  I  consider  myself  bound  to  the  Shasta  Com- 
pany." 

"Ah!"  said  Burnell;  "their  terms  are  still  more  fa- 
vorable? One  would  scarcely  have  fancied  it." 

"No,"  said  Jimmy,  "that  is  certainly  not  the  case. 
Still,  they  put  me  into  the  little  boat  out  of  friendli- 
ness— and  I'm  not  quite  sure  anybody  else  could  do  as 
much  for  them,  or,  at  least,  would  make  an  equal  effort 
in  the  somewhat  curious  circumstances.  Of  course, 
that  sounds  a  trifle  egotistical ;  but  still " 

Burnell  signified  comprehension.  "It  is  not  alto- 
gether a  question  of  money." 

"I  couldn't  come  if  you  offered  me  treble  the  usual 
thing,"  said  Jimmy  gravely. 

The  other  man  nodded.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I'm  sorry, 
because  after  what  you  have  told  me  I  almost  think  we 
should  have  hit  it  tolerably  well  together.  At  any  time 
you  think  I  could  be  of  service,  you  can  write  to  me." 

He  talked  about  other  matters  for  a  while,  and  it  was 
half  an  hour  after  he  went  away  when  Jimmy  once 
more  came  face  to  face  with  Anthea  Merril.  She  was 
walking  slowly  through  the  creeping  shadow  of  the 
pines,  and  stopped  when  she  saw  him  beside  a  barberry 
bush,  among  whose  clustering  blossoms  jeweled  hum- 


UNDER   RESTRAINT  193 

ming-birds  flitted.  One  of  them  that  gleamed  iridescent 
hovered  on  wings  that  moved  invisibly  close  above  her 
shoulder. 

"So,"  she  said,  "you  have  not  done  as  I  suggested?" 

Jimmy  looked  at  her  gravely,  and  once  more  felt  the 
blood  creep  into  his  face.  She  had  told  him  she  was 
going  to  Alaska  on  board  the  yacht,  and  he  almost 
ventured  to  fancy  she  had  meant  it  as  an  inducement; 
but  there  was  no  trace  of  resentment  in  her  voice. 
Anthea  was  too  proud  for  that. 

"I'm  sorry,"  he  said.     "Still,  you  see,  I  couldn't." 

There  was  no  doubt  that  he  was  sorry,  and  a  look 
that  left  him  almost  bewildered  crept  into  the  girl's  eyes. 

"Why?"  she  asked  quietly. 

It  was  a  somewhat  unfortunate  question,  since  it 
afforded  an  opening  for  two  different  answers,  and 
Jimmy,  who  fancied  she  wished  to  learn  why  the  fact 
that  he  could  not  go  should  grieve  him,  lost  his  head. 

"Why?"  he  said.  "Surely  that  can't  be  necessary. 
I  think  there  is  only  one  thing  that  could  have  stopped 
my  going.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  that,  I  would  have 
walked  bare-foot  across  the  Province  to  join  the  ship." 

Anthea  looked  up,  and  met  his  eyes  steadily.  It  was 
clear  that  she  understood  him,  but  there  was  no  reproof 
in  her  gaze,  and  for  a  moment  the  man  felt  the  sudden 
passion  seize  and  almost  shake  the  self-restraint  from 
him.  The  girl  was  very  alluring,  and  just  then  her 
pride  had  gone,  while  it  was  vaguely  borne  in  on  him 
that  he  had  but  to  ask,  or  rather  take  her  masterfully. 
Perhaps  he  was  right,  for  there  are  moments  when 
wealth  and  station  do  not  seem  to  count,  and  an  eager 
word  or  two,  or  a  sudden  compelling  seizure  of  the 


194  THRICE    ARMED 

\vhite  hand  that  hung  so  close  beside  him,  might  have 
been  all  that  was  needed.  He  looked  at  her  with  gleam- 
ing eyes,  while  a  little  quiver  ran  through  him.  Still, 
he  remembered  suddenly  whose  daughter  she  was,  and 
the  bitter  grievance  he  had  against  her  father.  The 
opposition  Merril  would  certainly  offer  and  the  stigma 
others  might  cast  upon  him  if  he  wrested  a  promise  from 
her  then,  also  counted  for  something;  and  though 
neither  of  them  made  any  sign,  both  knew  when  she 
spoke  again  that  the  moment  had  passed. 

"That,"  she  said,  "was  not  what  I  meant.  Why  is 
it  impossible  for  you  to  go?" 

Jimmy  was  himself  again,  for  her  voice  and  look  had 
swiftly  changed.  "I  think  it  is  only  your  due  that  I 
should  tell  you,  since  I  know  why  Burnell  put  the  offer 
before  me.  Well,  I  was  glad  to  get  the  Shasta,  and  it 
would  hardly  be  the  thing  to  leave  her  now.  Jordan 
and  tha  others  put  money  they  could  very  hardly  spare 
into  the  venture — and  when  they  did  it,  they  had  confi- 
dence in  me." 

"Ah !"  said  Anthea,  and  stood  silent  for  a  moment  or 
two.  Then  she  smiled  at  him  gravely.  "Perhaps  you 
are  right — and,  at  least,  one  could  fancy  that  Jordan 
and  the  others  were  warranted." 

Jimmy,  whose  face  once  more  grew  a  trifle  flushed, 
raised  a  hand  in  protest.  "I  feel  I  have  to  thank  you 
for  sending  Burnell  to  me.  It  must  have  seemed  very 
ungrateful  that  I  didn't  close  with  him ;  but,  after  all, 
that  is  only  part  of  what  I  mean.  You  see " 

The  girl  looked  at  him,  still  with  the  curious  little 
smile.  "You  fancied  I  should  feel  hurt  because  you 
could  not  take  a  favor  of  that  kind  from  me?  Well, 


UNDER   RESTRAINT  195 

perhaps  I  did,  but,  as  you  have  said,  you  couldn't  help 
it — and  I  don't  think  it  matters,  after  all." 

Her  voice  was  quietly  even,  and  there  was  certainly 
no  suggestion  in  it  that  she  resented  what  he  had  done ; 
but  Jimmy  knew  that  he  was  now  expected  to  put  on 
his  reserve  again,  and  he  hastened  to  explain  in  con- 
ventional fashion  that  the  way  she  might  regard  the 
matter  was  really  a  question  of  interest  to  him.  Then 
Anthea  looked  at  him,  and  they  both  laughed  as  they 
turned  away,  which,  as  it  happened,  very  nearly  led  to 
Jimmy's  flinging  prudence  aside  again,  and  he  felt 
relieved  when  he  saw  Austerly  and  his  daughter  ap- 
proaching them.  Before  the  latter  two  joined  them, 
Anthea,  however,  once  more  turned  to  her  companion. 

"There  is  still  something  I  wish  to  say,  and  perhaps 
I  should  have  mentioned  it  earlier;  but  in  such  cases 
one  shrinks  from  causing  pain,"  she  said.  "I  should 
like  you  to  believe  that  I  was  very  sorry  when  I  heard 
— about  your  father." 

Jimmy  only  made  her  a  grave  inclination,  for,  though 
he  could  not  blame  her  for  it,  his  father's  death  was  the 
most  formidable  of  the  barriers  between  them,  and, 
recognizing  it,  he  felt  a  little  thrill  of  dismay  as  she 
turned  off  across  the  lawn  toward  where  Mrs.  Burnell 
was  apparently  awaiting  her.  It  afterward  cost  him 
an  effort  to  talk  intelligently  to  Austerly  and  his 
daughter;  but  since  they  betrayed  no  astonishment  at 
his  observations,  he  fancied  that  he  had  somehow  ac- 
complished it. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  RANCHER'S  ANSWER 

IT  was  a  Saturday  evening,  and  Barbison,  the  fruit- 
tree  drummer,  felt  that  he  had  chosen  a  fitting 
time  to  introduce  the  business  which  had  brought 
him  there,  as  he  sat  amidst  a  cluster  of  bush-ranchers 
on  the  veranda  of  the  little  wooden  hotel.  It  stood  be- 
side a  crystal  river  in  a  lonely  settlement,  with  the  dark 
coniferous  forest  rolling  close  up  to  it.  There  were, 
however,  wide  gaps  in  the  firs  in  front  of  the  veranda, 
with  tall,  split  fences,  raised  to  keep  the  deer  out,  strag- 
gling athwart  them  amidst  the  pale-green  of  the  oats, 
while  here  and  there  one  could  see  an  axe-built  log- 
house  embowered  in  young  orchard  trees.  A  trail  led 
past  the  hotel,  rutted  by  the  wooden  runners  of  jumper- 
sleds  and  ploughed  up  by  the  feet  of  toiling  oxen  and 
pack-horses.  It  led  back  in  one  direction  through  shad- 
owy forest  to  the  Dunsmore  railroad,  thirty  miles  away, 
and  in  the  other  to  the  deep  inlet  where  the  Shasta  lay. 
The  ranchers,  however,  usually  reached  the  latter  by 
canoe,  because  the  trail  was  as  bad  as  most  of  the  others 
are  in  that  country. 

On  the  evening  in  question  there  was  a  little  stir  in 
the  sleepy  place,  for  the  mounted  mail-carrier,  who  ac- 
complished the  journey  weekly,  had  come  in,  and  hard- 

196 


THE   RANCHER'S   ANSWER          197 

handed,  jean-clad  men  had  plodded  down  from  lonely 
clearings  among  the  enfolding  hills  to  inquire  for  let- 
ters, purchase  stores,  and  ask  each  other  whether  the 
Government  meant  to  make  a  wagon-road  or  do  any- 
thing at  all  for  them.  The  question  was,  however,  not 
quite  so  important  as  usual  just  then,  for  private  enter- 
prise had,  as  not  infrequently  happens,  undertaken  the 
Government's  responsibilities,  and  the  ranchers  were 
conscious  of  a  certain  gratitude  to  the  Shasta  Shipping 
Company.  Thirty  miles  over  mountains  is  rather  a  long 
way  to  convey  one's  produce  and  supplies. 

A  select  company  of  deeply  bronzed  and  wiry  men 
who  had  tried  to  do  it  with  pack-horses  as  well  as  oxen 
and  jumper-sledges  sat  listening  to  Barbison,  apparent- 
ly with  grave  attention,  while  another  entertainment  was 
being  prepared  for  them.  Two  of  their  comrades, 
stripped  to  their  blue  shirts  and  old  jean  trousers, 
were  then  engaged  in  grubbing  a  very  big  fir-stump 
in  front  of  the  veranda — that  is,  clearing  out  the  soil 
from  beneath  it,  and  cutting  through  the  smaller  roots 
with  an  instrument  which  much  resembled  a  ship  car- 
penter's adze.  It  is  in  general  use  on  the  Pacific  Slope, 
where  the  process  of  making  a  bush-ranch  seldom  varies 
greatly.  The  rancher  purchases  the  raw  material,  thin 
red  soil  covered  with  tremendous  forest,  as  cheaply  as 
he  can,  and  at  the  cost  of  several  years'  strenuous  toil 
hews  down  a  few  acres  of  the  latter.  Then  he  proceeds 
to  burn  up  the  logs,  and  there  are  left  rows  of  unsightly 
stumps  rising  four  to  six  feet  above  the  ground,  which  he 
laboriously  ploughs  around.  When  he  has  garnered  a 
crop  or  two  he  usually  attacks  these  in  turn — that  is, 
if  they  show  no  sign  of  rotting ;  and  to  grub  out  a  big 


198  THRICE    ARMED 

one  and  haul  it  clear  with  oxen  frequently  costs  him  at 
least  a  day. 

Barbison,  who  watched  the  proceedings  with  the  rest, 
was  aware  of  this,  but  he  did  not  know  that  the  man 
who  sat  smoking  on  a  big  mechanical  appliance  of 
the  screw-jack  order  was  the  Shasta 's  engineer.  It  was 
also  somewhat  curious,  since  he  had  contrived  to  mention 
her  several  times,  that  his  companions  had  not  thought 
it  worth  while  to  acquaint  him  with  the  fact,  but  left 
him  to  suppose  the  gentleman  in  question  was  traveling 
the  country  on  behalf  of  the  manufacturers  of  the 
American  stump-grubber.  In  the  meanwhile  Barbison 
discoursed  glibly  about  fruit-trees  and  produce  prices, 
and  pointed  now  and  then  to  a  big  tin  case  partly  filled 
with  desiccated  fruits  and  pictures  which  lay  on  a  chair 
beside  him.  He  was  a  little,  dapper  man,  evidently  from 
the  cities,  and  by  no  mean  disingenuous,  though  he  was 
apparently  young.  He  turned  when  a  big  quiet  rancher 
picked  up  and  gravely  munched  a  fine  Calif ornian  plum. 

"Oh,  let  up !— that's  the  third,"  he  said.  "How  can 
I  sell  trees  on  my  samples  when  the  boys  have  eaten 
them?" 

The  man  looked  at  him  stolidly.  "It's  high-grade 
fruit,"  he  said.  "How'd  you  start  those  plum-trees 
bearing? — they're  quite  a  long  while  showing  a  flower  or 
two.  Cut  them  hard  when  the  frost  lets  up  in  spring?" 

"Quite  hard!"  said  Barbison,  for  one  must  make  a 
venture  now  and  then ;  and  none  of  his  companions 
showed  any  astonishment,  though  fruit  is  freely  raised 
in  that  country,  and  the  trees  that  grow  the  kind  with 
stones  in  it  resent  the  use  of  the  pruning  knife,  as 
everybody  who  has  much  to  do  with  them  knows. 


THE   RANCHER'S   ANSWER         199 

" Juss  so !"  said  the  rancher.  "Boys,  you  cut  them — 
hard.  Now,  those  apples.  S'pose  you  had  good  parent 
stocks,  could  you  bud  on  to  them — and  how'd  you  do  It? 
Guess  that  would  suit  some  sorts  better  than  whip- 
grafting." 

One  might  have  fancied  that  Barbison  was  for  a 
moment  a  trifle  disconcerted,  but  he  smiled  airily.  "Just 
how  you'd  bud  on  anything  else.  I'd  wax  the  thread." 

"You  hear  him,  boys  ?"  said  the  rancher.  "What  you 
want  to  do  is  to  wax  your  thread." 

They  were  very  quiet,  but  perhaps  not  unusually  so, 
for  the  clearers  of  those  forests  are,  except  on  occa- 
sion, generally  silent  men.  Barbison  looked  at  them 
reflectively. 

"Raising  the  fruit's  only  half  the  trouble,  anyway," 
he  said.  "The  big  question  everywhere  is  how  to  put  it 
on  the  market ;  and  if  I  can  be  of  any  use  in  that  direc- 
tion, you  have  only  to  command  me.  Seems  to  me  the 
Government's  tired  of  making  roads." 

"What's  the  matter  with  the  steamboat?"  asked 
somebody.  "Never  had  no  trouble  since  we  hauled  our 
stuff  down  to  the  Shasta." 

Barbison's  smile  was  sympathetic  now.  "I  guess 
you're  not  going  to  haul  your  stuff  down  to  her  very 
much  longer.  She's  played  out,  and  run  by  little,  strug- 
gling men  who  can't  get  credit  for  the  patching  up  that 
ought  to  be  done  on  her,  and  who'll  have  nothing  to  meet 
claims  with  if  she  breaks  down  and  spoils  your  freight 
some  day.  That's  a  sure  thing.  From  what  I  heard  in 
Vancouver,  the  bottom's  just  ready  to  drop  out  of  the 
concern.  You  want  to  think  of  that.  Creditors  have 
a  lien  on  freight,  too,  when  a  boat's  held  up  for  debt." 


200  THRICE    ARMED 

"Then  if  I  sent  down  my  potatoes  or  fat  steers  in  her, 
somebody  could  seize  them  for  the  money  the  company 
owed?"  asked  another  rancher. 

"That's  the  law,"  said  Barbison,  and  there  was  noth- 
ing in  his  companions'  manner  to  suggest  that  they  did 
not  in  the  least  believe  him.  "Now,  there's  some  talk 
about  another  firm  putting  a  smart  new  boat  on.  Plenty 
money  behind  that  crowd,  and  when  she  comes  round  it 
might  suit  you  considerably  better  to  make  a  deal  with 
them." 

"Who's  running  the  thing?" 

"Man  called  Merril.  Enterprising  man.  When  he 
takes  hold  he  makes  things  hum.  If  it  were  necessary 
to  start  a  trade,  he'd  'most  carry  your  stuff  for  noth- 
ing." 

"Juss  so!"  said  the  big  rancher.  "Kind  of  philan- 
thropist. I've  heard  of  him." 

The  man's  face  was  vacantly  expressionless,  but 
Barbison,  who  glanced  at  him  sharply,  fancied  that  he 
had  said  enough  on  the  subject.  He  had  visited  most 
of  the  settlements  that  could  be  reached  from  the  coast, 
and  had  never  neglected  an  opportunity  for  dropping  a 
word  about  the  Shasta  and  the  new  boat. 

"Where's  that  stump-grubber  fellow  from?"  he  asked. 

"Don't  quite  know,"  said  one  of  the  others.  "Strikes 
me  as  an  Ontario  Scotchman.  But  the  machine's  an 
American  notion ;  never  saw  one  quite  like  it  before." 

The  man  in  question  stood  up  just  then.  He  was  big 
and  gaunt  and  pale,  but  he  wore  ordinary  city  clothes, 
and  when  he  and  the  others  had  inserted  the  screw-jack 
contrivance  on  a  strip  of  thick  planking  under  the 
sawn-ofF  tree,  he  turned  to  the  assembly. 


THE   RANCHER'S   ANSWER          201 

"There  are  quite  a  few  stump-pullers,  and  I've  struck 
benighted  men  who  used  the  chain-tackle  tripod,"  he 
said.  "I'm  not  saying  it's  inefficient,  for  when  you  put 
sufficient  pressure  upon  the  winch  and  it  will  not  pull 
the  stump  up,  it  will  pull  the  tripod  down  upon  your 
head.  This  one  pulls  up  all  the  time,  and  something 
has  got  to  come  if  you  work  hard  enough."  Then  he 
raised  his  hand  to  his  two  companions.  "You  look  fit 
and  strong.  Show  them  you  can  heave." 

They  drew  the  sliding  bar  up  to  the  head  of  the  thing, 
and  pulled  it  toward  them  several  times,  while  their  faces 
grew  suffused  and  the  veins  rose  gorged  on  their  fore- 
heads, for  men  in  that  country  are  proud  of  their  vigor. 
There  was  a  slow  cracking  and  tearing  of  roots,  but  the 
great  stump  still  stood  immovable.  Then  the  Shasta's 
engineer  inquired  what  they  fed  upon,  and  their  com- 
rades flung  them  sardonic  encouragement,  while  as  they 
gasped  and  strained  their  muscles  the  screw  slid  slowly, 
turn  by  turn,  through  its  socket.  .  At  last  there  was  a 
sharp  rending  and  a  little  murmur  of  applause  as  the 
big  stump  tilted  and  fell  over  on  its  side.  Then  the  big 
rancher  stood  up  on  the  veranda. 

"It's  smart  work,  but  Dave  and  Charley  are  two  of 
the  smartest  men  round  this  settlement,  and  we  want  to 
test  the  thing  in  every  way,"  he  said.  "There's  another 
stump  yonder,  and  I  guess  Mr.  Fleming  will  put  up  a 
bottle  of  whisky  for  any  three  men  who  will  knock  five 
minutes  off  the  record.  We'll  put  Mr.  Barbison  and 
Jasper  in  to  show  what  men  who  don't  grub  stumps  can 
do." 

There  was  a  little  laughter,  for  if  Jasper,  who  slowly 
took  off  his  jacket,  was  not  accustomed  to  stump-grub- 


THRICE   ARMED 

bing,  he  was  at  least  a  man  of  splendid  physique,  and 
Barbison  felt  uneasy  when  he  laid  a  great  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"Come  right  along,"  he  said ;  "we've  got  to  get  that 
whisky." 

Barbison's  protests  were  not  listened  to,  and,  seeing 
no  help  for  it,  he  also  flung  off  his  jacket,  when  the  big- 
rancher  firmly  led  him  down  the  stairway.  Then  they 
gave  him  a  shovel,  and  his  two  companions  saw  that  he 
used  it  while  they  plied  the  grub-hoe.  There  are,  how- 
ever, probably  very  few  men  reared  in  the  city  who  could 
work  with  the  tireless  axemen  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  and 
in  ten  minutes  Barbison  was  visibly  distressed.  The 
perspiration  dripped  from  his  flushed  face,  and  he 
gasped  for  breath,  while  his  comrades  inquired  with 
ironical  solicitude  whether  he  were  getting  sleepy. 
When  he  had  excavated  enough  to  satisfy  them,  they 
made  him  crawl  into  the  hole  and  claw  out  soil  from 
among  the  roots  with  shortened  shovel,  most  of  the 
contents  of  which  fell  all  over  him.  They  kept  him  at 
it  mercilessly  for  over  half  an  hour,  and  when  he  crept 
out  his  hands  were  raw  and  he  was  aching  in  every  limb. 
Even  then  there  was  no  respite,  for  the  rest  insisted  on 
his  participating  in  their  labors  at  the  lever,  and  con- 
trived to  allow  him  to  do  considerably  more  than  his 
share.  At  last,  however,  the  great  stump  rose  and 
tilted,  and  he  was  escorted  back  to  the  hotel  amidst  ac- 
clamation. 

"Well,"  said  the  big  rancher,  "if  you  can  work  like 
that,  why  in  the  name  of  thunder  do  you  want  to  be  a 
fruit-tree  peddler?  It's  quite  hard  to  believe  you  are 
one.  You  don't  look  like  it,  anyway." 


THE   RANCHER'S   ANSWER          203 

Barbison  certainly  did  not,  for  he  had  burst  a  seam 
of  one  of  his  garments  during  his  efforts,  while  the  red 
soil  that  had  smeared  them  freely  was  on  his  dripping 
face  and  in  his  ruffled  hair.  He  flung  a  swift  glance  at 
the  man  as  he  realized  that  his  observation  was  appo- 
site. There  was,  however,  nothing  suspicious  in  the 
rancher's  attitude,  and  the  others  laughed  in  the  soft 
fashion  peculiar  to  the  bushman. 

"Anyway,  he  deserves  the  whisky,"  said  one  of  them. 

It  was  duly  brought,  and,  though  those  ranchers  are 
for  the  most  part  abstemious  men,  other  bottles  made 
their  appearance  in  turn,  and  Barbison  braced  himself 
for  an  effort  to  maintain  his  credit  as  one  of  The  Boys. 
He  had  not  found  this  very  difficult  in  the  city  saloons, 
but  the  bushman  who  lives  with  Spartan  simplicity  and 
toils  amidst  the  life-giving  fragrance  of  the  pines  twelve 
hours  every  day  usually  possesses  a  nerve  and  constitu- 
tion that  will  withstand  almost  anything.  Besides,  there 
was  only  one  Barbison  and  a  good  many  of  them.  It 
was  therefore  not  altogether  astonishing  that  by  and 
by  the  drummer's  observations  grew  a  trifle  incoherent, 
until  at  last  his  companions  grinned  at  one  another  when 
with  a  visible  effort  he  raised  himself  shakily  to  his  feet. 

"Something  wrong  with  that  whisky,  boys ;  I  can't 
quite  talk  the  way  I  want.  Guess  I'll  go  to  sleep,"  he 
said.  "Anyway,  you  stand  by  Merril.  He'll  carry  your 
freight  for  nothing,  and  run  the  Shasta  men  to " 

After  that  he  said  nothing  further,  but  lowered  him- 
self carefully  into  his  chair,  and  collapsed  with  his  arms 
flung  out  before  him  across  the  table.  Then  the  rest 
proceeded  to  hold  a  court-martial  over  him. 

"Seems  to  me  he  knows  a  blame  sight  more  about  Mr. 


204  THRICE    ARMED 

Merril  and  the  Shasta  than  he  does  about  fruit-trees," 
said  the  big  rancher.  "Boys,  you  cut  those  plums — • 
hard — and  always  put  wax  on  the  string.  Oh,  yes, 
you're  innocent  bushmen  being  played  for  suckers  by  a 
smart  city  man!  Guess  one  would  wonder  when  they 
took  the  long  clothes  off  him.  If  that  last  advice  he 
gave  you  wasn't  quite  enough,  I  see  a  book  in  his  pocket 
with  a  silver-headed  pencil  strapped  to  it." 

One  of  them  promptly  took  it  out,  and  flicking  over 
the  pages,  read,  "  'Six  fathoms  right  up  to  the  old  saw- 
mill wharf.  Worth  while  to  tow  the  schooner  in  and 
leave  her  to  load.  Nothing  to  be  had  at  Trevor.  Siwash 
deck  passengers  at  Tyler's.  Sprotson  men  have  odds 
and  ends,  but  seem  stuck  on  the  Shasta.' ' 

He  closed  the  book  with  a  sharp  snap,  and  grinned  at 
the  rest.  "Well,"  he  said  reflectively,  "that's  'bout 
enough  for  me.  I'm  stuck  on  the  Shasta,  too.  Seems 
to  me  the  men  who  run  her  mean  to  do  the  straight  thing 
by  us." 

The  rest  concurred  with  this,  and  several  of  them 
instanced  cases  where  carriers  had  in  due  time  put  the 
screw  upon  producers  who  had  been  supinely  content 
to  pocket  a  big  rebate  until  there  was  no  longer  any 
competition.  The  rancher  with  the  notebook  smiled  at 
them. 

"Then  we've  no  use  round  here  for  a  man  like  Mr. 
Barbison,"  he  said.  "The  one  question  is — what  we're 
going  to  do  with  him  before  we  start  him  back  to  the 
blame  philanthropist  who  sent  him?" 

They  made  ingenious  suggestions,  which  varied  from 
painting  him  with  red-lead  to  teaching  him  to  swim; 


THE   RANCHER'S   ANSWER          205 

but  it  was  the  one  offered  by  Fleming  of  the  Shasta 
that  most  pleased  them. 

"What  he  wants  is  exercise,  and  if  you  will  bring  him 
off  to  the  steamer  I'll  see  he  gets  it,"  he  said.  "I've 
quite  a  few  tons  of  coal  to  trim,  and  there's  a  pile  of  old 
grease  he  could  clean  out  of  her  bilges." 

"The  blame  insect  will  offer  to  pay  his  passage  when  1 
he  comes  round,"  said  one  of  the  company. 

"That  is  easily  fixed,"  said  another,  who  had  been 
rummaging  Barbison's  pockets.  "See  this  wallet,  Jake? 
Well,  you're  going  in  to  the  railroad,  and  you'll  express 
it  to  Mr.  Merril,  care  of  the  fruit  agency,  with  a  line  to 
say  the  gentleman  was  sick  and  left  it  behind  him. 
That  strike  you  all  as  workable?  Then  all  we  have  to 
do  is  to  decorate  him." 

They  did  it  as  well  as  they  were  able,  and  four  of 
them  afterward  carried  him  to  a  Siwash  canoe.  They 
had  some  difficulty  in  doing  it,  and  fell  down  once  or 
twice  on  the  way;  but  just  before  the  Shasta  went 
to  sea  Harbison  was  put  aboard  her,  with  his  face 
rouged  with  red-lead  and  a  garland  of  cedar  sprays 
about  his  head.  It  was  almost  dark  then.  Wheelock 
was  on  his  bridge,  the  deck-hands  were  busy  stowing 
the  anchor,  and  as  the  two  ranchers  who  brought  the 
drummer  laid  him  beneath  a  boat  where  he  tranquilly 
resumed  his  sleep,  some  little  time  had  passed  before 
anybody  concerned  himself  about  him.  Then  a  grinning 
seaman  brought  Jimmy  down  from  his  bridge,  and  held 
up  a  lantern  while  he  gazed  in  blank  astonishment  at 
his  prostrate  passenger. 

"Tell  Mr.  Fleming  I  want  him.  He  was  ashore,"  he 
said. 


206  THRICE    ARMED 

The  engineer  came,  and  smiled  when  Jimmy  turned 
to  him. 

"If  you  can  tell  me  what  the  meaning  of  this  is,  I 
should  be  obliged,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  said  Fleming  reflectively,  "there  are  maybe 
two  or  three.  For  one  thing,  I'm  thinking  it's  a  hint 
that  the  boys  ashore  are  standing  by  you.  There's  a 
note  they  sent  off  in  your  room." 

Jimmy  told  the  seaman  to  bring  it,  and,  while  the 
latter  turned  the  light  upon  the  strip  of  paper,  read: 
"Hasn't  a  dollar  on  him,  and  belongs  to  a  man  called 
Merril,  who's  on  your  trail.  We  recommend  a  course 
of  shoveling  coal.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  play  a 
straight  game  with  the  boys,  and  they'll  stand  behind 
you  all  the  time." 

Then  he  turned  to  Fleming.  "I  fancy  you  could 
give  me  an  explanation,  and  I'd  like  to  have  it." 

Fleming  told  him  as  much  as  it  appeared  desirable 
that  he  should  know,  and  Jimmy  smiled  grimly. 

"Wake  him  up,"  he  said.    "There's  a  bucket  yonder." 

The  seaman  made  a  vigorous  use  of  it,  and  Barbison 
raised  himself  on  one  elbow,  drenched  and  spluttering. 

"Throw  any  more  water,  and  I'll  kill  somebody !  I'm 
dangerous  when  I'm  mad,"  he  said. 

"Get  up !"  said  Jimmy  sharply.  "What  are  you  doing 
here?" 

Barbison,  who  endeavored  unsuccessfully  to  get  up, 
did  not  seem  to  know,  and  apparently  abandoned  the 
attempt  to  think  it  out.  His  scattered  senses,  however, 
came  back  to  him  after  the  application  of  more  cold 
water. 


THE   RANCHER'S   ANSWER          207 

"How  much  you  want — take  me  to  Victoria?"  he 
gasped. 

"One  hundred  dollars,"  said  Jimmy  dryly. 

The  passenger  expostulated  in  a  half-coherent  fash- 
ion, and  then,  apparently  realizing  that  it  was  useless, 
fumbled  for  his  wallet.  He  clenched  his  fist  when  he 
could  not  find  it. 

"Stole  it — and  my  tin  case,"  he  said.  "Ate  up  all 
my  samples — must  have  ate  the  case,  too,  the — hungry 
hogs." 

"Then  you'll  have  to  work  your  passage ;"  and  Jimmy 
turned  to  Fleming.  "You'll  take  care  he  earns  it. 
Don't  quite  kill  the  man." 

Barbison,  who  seemed  to  understand  this,  at  last  got 
on  his  feet  and  unloosed  a  flood  of  invective  which  had 
no  effect  on  any  of  his  listeners.  Several  deck-hands 
were,  however,  needed  before  he  was  conveyed  into  the 
stokehold  and  left  in  front  of  a  bunker  with  a  shovel  in 
his  hand.  He  assured  Fleming  that  nothing  would 
induce  him  to  work,  and  the  engineer  only  grinned, 
because  it  was  a  long  way  to  Victoria,  and  the  Shasta 
had  several  calls  to  make.  Barbison  seemed  to  fancy 
that  his  firmness  had  proved  sufficient,  and,  coiling  him- 
self up  amidst  the  coal,  once  more  went  to  sleep.  He 
awakened  hungry,  and  Fleming  smiled  again  when  he 
demanded  food. 

"If  you'll  lift  those  floor-plates  you'll  see  the  spaces 
between  her  frames  choked  with  coal-grit  and  grease," 
he  said.  "It's  possible  you'll  get  some  breakfast  when 
you've  scraped  them  clean.  Then  it  will  depend  on 
how  much  coal  you  trim  out  of  that  bunker  whether  you 
get  any  dinner." 


208  THRICE    ARMED 

Barbison  looked  hard  at  the  man,  and  saw  he  meant 
what  he  said.  Then  he  pulled  up  a  floor-plate  and 
looked  at  the  filthy  mass  of  coagulated  grease  that  had 
drained  from  the  engine-room. 

"And  how'm  I  to  get  it  out?"  he  asked. 

"Quite  easy,"  said  Fleming  dryly.  "What's  the 
matter  with  your  hands  ?" 

Then  he  went  away  and  left  Barbison  to  his  task.  It 
was  a  particularly  repulsive  one,  but  he  accomplished  it, 
and  spent  most  of  the  next  few  days  trimming  coal, 
waiting  on  the  fireman,  and  cleaning  out  an  empty  coal- 
bunker  on  his  hands  and  knees.  It  is  probable  that  the 
sight  of  Victoria  filled  him  with  ineffable  relief,  and 
it  certainly  was  not  Fleming's  fault  if  this  were  not  the 
case.  As  they  steamed  inta  the  harbor  Jimmy  sent 
for  him. 

"I  think  you  have  earned  your  passage,  and  we're 
straight,"  he  said.  "You  can  go  ashore  when  we  get 
in." 

Barbison  glanced  down  at  his  dilapidated  attire. 
"Can  I  go  ashore  this  way?  I'll  ask  you  a  favor.  Let 
me  stay  until  it's  dark." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "Well,"  he  said,  "as  I  scarcely 
think  Mr.  Merril  will  send  you  back  again,  you  may." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ELEANOR   SPEAKS    HEB   MIND 

THE  afternoon  was  hot  and  drowsily  still  when 
Merril  drove  his  daughter  down  the  dusty  road 
which  runs  from  New  Westminster  through  the 
Fraser  meadows.  The  team  was  a  fast  one,  and  the  man, 
who  had  an  appointment  to  keep  in  Vancouver,  did  not 
spare  them.     There  were  also  reasons  why  he  found 
rapid  motion  and  the  attention  the  mettlesome  horses 
required  a  welcome  distraction,  for  just  then  he  was 
troubled  with  a  certain  sense  of  irritation  which  was 
unusual  with  him. 

Merril  was  not  a  hot-tempered  man ;  in  fact,  he  owed 
his  commercial  success  largely  to  the  dispassionate  cool- 
ness which  rarely  permitted  his  feelings  to  influence  his 
actions,  and  it  was  characteristic  of  him  that  while  he 
had  a  finger  in  a  good  many  schemes  the  man  himself 
never  figured  prominently  in  connection  with  any  of 
them.  His  influence  was  felt,  but  he  was  in  one  sense 
rather  an  abstract  force  than  a  dominant  personality. 
It  was  said  of  him  that  he  always  worked  underground, 
and  he  certainly  never  made  political  speeches  or 
favored  the  newspapers  with  his  views ;  while,  when 
the  results  of  his  unostentatious  efforts  became  apparent 
in  disaster  to  somebody,  as  they  usually  did,  it  generally 

209 


210  THRICE    ARMED 

happened  that  other  men  incurred  the  odium.  There 
are,  of  course,  financiers  whose  enterprises  benefit  the 
whole  community,  since  they  create  new  corn-fields  and 
open  mines  and  mills,  but  Merril's  genius  was  rather 
of  the  destructive  order,  and  it  was  not  to  anybody's 
advantage  that  he  knew  how  to  choose  his  time  and 
instruments  well.  In  person,  he  was  little,  somewhat 
portly,  and  very  neatly  dressed,  a  man  who  had  never 
been  known  to  lose  his  temper  or  force  himself  upon 
the  citizens'  attention. 

Still,  he  was  human,  after  all,  and  as  he  sat  behind  his 
costly  team  that  afternoon  he  was  thinking  somewhat 
uneasily  of  the  unexpected  resistance  certain  land-job- 
bers in  New  Westminster  had  shown  to  his  demands,  and 
the  attack  on  him  which  had  just  appeared  in  a  popular 
journal.  It  was  the  second  time  the  thing  had  hap- 
pened, and,  though  he  was  not  directly  mentioned  and 
the  statements  could  scarcely  be  considered  libelous,  it 
was  evident  that  a  continuance  of  them  would  have  the 
effect  of  turning  the  attention  of  those  who  read  them 
upon  his  doings,  which  was  just  then  about  the  last 
thing  that  he  desired. 

It  accordingly  happened  that  he  drove  a  little  faster 
than  he  generally  did,  until  as  the  team  swung  out  of 
a  strip  of  shadowy  bush  he  saw  a  jumper-sled  loaded 
high  with  split-rails  on  the  road  close  in  front  of  him. 
He  shouted  to  the  man  who  walked  beside  the  plodding 
oxen,  never  doubting  that  way  would  be  made  for  him, 
especially  as  the  teamster  looked  around.  The  oxen, 
however,  went  straight  on  down  the  middle  of  the  road, 
and  it  was  a  trifle  too  late  when  Merril  laid  both  hands 
upon  the  reins.  In  another  moment  there  was  a  crash, 


ELEANOR  SPEAKS  HER  MIND 

and  Anthea  was  almost  shaken  from  her  seat.  When 
Merril  swung  himself  down  he  saw  that  one  wheel  had 
driven  hard  against  the  jumper  load.  Then  as  he  called 
to  Anthea  to  move  the  team  a  pace  or  two,  the  patent 
bushing  squeaked  and  groaned,  and  the  wheel,  after 
making  part  of  a  revolution,  skidded  on  the  road.  The 
man  who  drove  the  oxen  turned  and  favored  him  with  a 
little  sardonic  grin. 

"I  hope  the  young  lady's  not  shook  too  much,"  he 
said. 

Anthea,  who  fancied  it  was  with  a  purpose  he  confined 
this  expression  of  regret,  if,  indeed,  it  could  be  consid- 
ered such,  to  herself,  was  as  a  matter  of  fact  consider- 
ably shaken  and  very  angry. 

"Why  didn't  you  get  out  of  the  way  when  you  heard 
my  father  shout?"  she  asked. 

It  was  Merril  at  whom  the  man  looked.  "Well,"  he 
said  reflectively,  "I  guess  that  load  is  heavy,  and  the 
oxen  have  been  hauling  hard  since  sun-up,  while  there's 
no  reason  why  a  rancher  shouldn't  use  the  road  as  well 
as  anybody  from  the  city.  You  should  have  pulled  up 
sooner.  Anyway,  you're  not  going  far  like  that." 

Merril  said  nothing,  though  he  could  not  very  well 
have  failed  to  notice  the  hint  of  satisfaction  in  the  last 
remark.  He  very  seldom  put  himself  in  the  wrong  by 
any  ill-considered  utterance,  but  Anthea  was  a  trifle 
puzzled  when  he  quietly  walked  to  the  horses'  heads. 
She  knew  that  the  small  ranchers  are,  for  the  most  part, 
good-humored  and  kindly  men,  while,  although  she  could 
not  be  certain  that  the  one  before  them  had  contrived 
the  mishap,  it  was  evident  that  he  had  done  very  little 
to  avert  it.  He  made  no  further  observation,  and  when 


THRICE    ARMED 

he  led  his  oxen  into  a  neighboring  meadow  Merril  told 
the  girl  to  drive  the  horses  slowly  toward  a  ranch  they 
could  see  ahead,  and  walked  beside  the  wagon  watching 
the  wheel.  It  would  turn  once  or  twice  and  then  stick 
fast  and  skid  again ;  but  they  contrived  to  reach  the 
ranch,  and  found  a  bronzed  man  in  dusty  jean  leaning 
on  the  slip-rails. 

"Have  you  a  wagon-jack  and  a  spanner?"  asked 
Merril. 

"I  have,"  said  the  man,  who  made  no  sign  of  going 
for  them. 

"Then  I  should  be  obliged  if  you  would  lend  me 
them,"  said  Merril. 

The  man  smiled  dryly.  "It  can't  be  done.  If  that 
wheel  won't  turn,  Miss  Merril  can  come  in  and  sit  with 
my  wife  while  you  go  somewhere  and  get  it  fixed.  That's 
the  most  I  can  do  for  you." 

"I  suppose  the  man  who  wouldn't  let  us  pass  back 
yonder  is  a  friend  of  yours?"  and  Merril  looked  hard  at 
him. 

"That's  so.  Runs  this  ranch  with  me.  Guess  you've 
seen  me  once  before,  though  it  was  your  clerk  I  made 
•the  deal  with.  That's  why  we're  here  on  rented  land 
making  'bout  enough  to  buy  groceries  and  tobacco.  You 
know  how  much  the  ranch  you  bounced  us  out  of  was 
worth  to  you.  Anyway,  you  can't  have  that  jack  and 
spanner." 

Anthea  flushed  with  anger,  but  she  saw  that  her 
father  was  very  quiet. 

"Well,"  he  said  dryly,  "they  belong  to  you,  but  I'm 
not  sure  it  wouldn't  have  been  as  wise  to  let  me  have 
them." 


ELEANOR  SPEAKS  HER  MIND       213 

The  rancher  laughed.  "You  don't  hold  our  mortgage 
now,  and  if  I  could  get  hold  of  that  newspaper-man  I 
could  give  him  a  pointer  or  two.  Seems  to  me  he's 
getting  right  down  on  to  the  trail  of  you.  Are  you 
coming  in  out  of  the  sun,  Miss  Merril?" 

"Certainly  not,"  said  Anthea ;  and  the  man  took  out 
his  pipe  and  quietly  filled  it  when  Merril  told  her  to 
walk  the  horses  on  again. 

Though  she  was  a  trifle  perplexed  by  what  she  had 
heard,  it  seemed  to  her  that  her  father's  attitude  was 
the  correct  one,  and  she  seldom  asked  unnecessary 
questions.  She  had  lived  away  from  home  a  good  deal 
since  the  death  of  her  mother  when  she  was  very  young, 
but  her  father  had  always  been  indulgent,  and  she  had 
cherished  an  unquestioning  confidence  in  him.  It  was 
also  pleasant  to  know  that  he  was  a  man  of  mark  and 
influence,  and  one  looked  up  to  by  the  community.  Of 
late,  however,  several  circumstances  besides  the  news- 
paper attacks  on  him  had  seemed  to  cast  a  doubt  upon 
the  latter  point,  but  she  would  not  entertain  it  for  a 
moment,  or  ask  herself  whether  there  was  anything  to 
warrant  them.  It  was  reassuring  to  remember  her 
father's  little  smile  when  she  had  ventured  to  offer  him 
her  sympathy;  but  she  could  not  help  admitting  that 
there  must,  at  least,  have  been  some  cause  for  the 
rancher's  rancor.  The  man,  she  felt,  would  not  have 
displayed  such  vindictive  bitterness  without  any  reason 
at  all.  She,  however,  decided  that  he  had  no  doubt 
made  some  imprudent  bargain  with  her  father,  and  was 
unwarrantedly  blaming  the  latter  for  the  unfortunate 
result  of  it. 

They  went  on  in   silence,  and  Merril,  who  walked 


THRICE    ARMED 

beside  the  wagon,  shook  the  wheel  loose  now  and  then 
when  the  horses  stopped,  until  they  reached  Forster's 
homestead.  The  rancher  greeted  Anthea  pleasantly, 
but  she  felt  that  there  was  a  subtle  change  in  his  man- 
ner when  he  turned  to  her  father,  who  explained  their 
difficulty. 

"The  trouble  is  that  I  have  rather  an  important  ap- 
pointment in  Vancouver  this  afternoon,"  said  the  latter. 

"My  wife  is  there  now  with  our  only  driving  wagon, 
or  I  would  offer  to  take  you  over,"  said  Forster.  "I 
can,  however,  lend  you  a  saddle-horse,  and  Miss  Merril 
could  stay  with  Miss  Wheelock  until  we  see  what  can  be 
done  with  the  wagon.  If  necessary,  I  will  drive  her 
across  when  my  wife  comes  back." 

Merril  thanked  him,  and  presently  moved  away  to- 
ward the  stable  with  the  hired  man  while  Forster  led 
Anthea  to  the  house,  and  left  her  in  the  big  general 
room  where,  as  it  happened,  Eleanor  Wheelock  sat  sew- 
ing. The  green  lattices  outside  the  open  windows  were 
partly  drawn  to,  but  the  shadowy  room  was  very  hot, 
and  the  little  air  that  entered  brought  the  smell  of  the 
pines  with  it.  It  was  not  the  aromatic  scent  they  have 
at  evening,  but  the  almost  overpowering  smell  filled  with 
the  clogging  sweetness  of  honey  the  afternoon  sun  calls 
forth  from  them.  The  ranch  was  also  very  still,  and 
for  no  evident  reason  Anthea  felt  the  drowsy  quietness 
weigh  upon  her.  Her  companion  said  nothing  to  break 
it,  but  sat  near  the  window  sewing  quietly,  and  Anthea 
became  sensible  of  a  faint  shrinking  from  the  girl, 
though  she  would  have  liked  to  overcome  it  for  reasons 
she  was  not  altogether  willing  to  confess  to  herself. 

Eleanor  Wheelock's  face  looked  almost  colorless  by 


ELEANOR  SPEAKS  HER  MIND       215 

contrast  with  her  somber  dress,  and  there  was  a  curious 
hardness  in  it,  while  Anthea,  who  remembered  Leeson's 
speech  in  the  Shasta's  cabin,  wondered  whether  she  were 
making  the  very  dainty  garment  for  herself,  since  it 
was  suggestive  of  wedding  finery. 

"That  should  be  very  effective,"  she  said  at  length. 
"You  intend  to  wear  it?" 

Eleanor  looked  up  from  her  sewing.  "Yes,"  she  said, 
"I  believe  I  shall." 

Something  in  her  voice  struck  Anthea  as  out  of  place 
in  the  circumstances,  for  one  does  not  sew  bitterness 
into  wedding  attire,  while  the  suggestion  of  uncertainty 
which  the  speech  conveyed  was  more  curious  still. 
Anthea  felt  there  must  be  something  more  than  the 
loss  of  her  father  to  account  for  her*  companion's  atti- 
tude ;  but  that  was  naturally  a  thing  she  could  not  men- 
tion. 

"I  think  I  could  venture  to  offer  you  my  sympathy 
in  what  you  have  had  to  bear,"  she  said.  "I  was  very 
distressed  to  see  the  brief  account  in  the  newspaper." 

Eleanor  laid  down  her  sewing,  and  looked  at  her 
steadily.  "Why  should  you  be?" 

It  was  a  disconcerting  question,  and  asked  with  a  still 
more  disconcerting  insistency.  Anthea  could  not  very 
well  say  that  she  did  not  know,  nor  yet  admit  that  the 
news  had  grieved  her  because  of  her  sympathy  with 
Jimmy.  Still,  though  she  shrank  from  her,  she  desired 
this  girl's  good-will,  and  she  compelled  herself  to  an 
effort. 

"In  any  case,  I  was  sincerely  sorry,"  she  said.  "Al- 
though I  only  met  you  that  evening  on  board  the 
Shasta,  one  could  say  as  much  without  presuming. 


216  THRICE    ARMED- 

Besides,  when  we  were  away  in  the  Sorata  your  brother 
did  a  good  deal  to  make  the  cruise  pleasant  for  Nellie 
Austerly  and  me." 

"When  he  was  Valentine's  deck-hand?"  and  Eleanor 
looked  at  her  with  a  little  sardonic  smile.  "You  no 
doubt  allowed  him  to  forget  it  occasionally,  and  Jimmy 
was  grateful.  In  fact,  he  admitted  as  much  to  me.  He 
was  always  foolishly  impressionable." 

Anthea  felt  her  face  grow  warm,  and  though  she 
was  as  a  rule  courageous,  she  was  glad  that  she  sat  in 
the  shadow.  In  several  respects  her  companion's  last 
suggestion  appeared  almost  insufferable. 

"Perhaps  I  laid  myself  open  to  this,"  she  said.  "It 
is  seldom  wise  to  make  advances  until  one  is  reasonably 
sure  of  one's  ground,  but  I  do  not  understand  why  you 
should  resent  a  few  words  spoken  out  of  friendliness." 

The  little  hard  glint  grew  plainer  in  Eleanor's  eyes. 
"Then  I  think  you  should  do  so.  There  is  a  very  con- 
vincing reason  why  friendliness — of  any  kind — would 
be  very  unfitting  between  you  and  me — or,  for  that 
matter,  between  you  and  Jimmy." 

Anthea  would  not  ask  the  question  that  suggested 
itself,  for  it  seemed  to  her,  as,  crushing  down  her  anger, 
she  sat  and  watched  her  companion,  that  the  latter  had 
been  waiting  for  this  opportunity.  There  was  no  mis- 
taking the  meaning  of  the  thrill  in  her  voice  or  the  spot 
of  color  in  her  cheek,  while  the  reference  to  Jimmy  had 
its  significance.  She  felt  that  the  girl  wished  to  hurt 
her. 

"You  admitted  that  you  read  the  newspapers?"  said 
Eleanor  abruptly. 

"Ah !"  said  Anthea ;  "I  think  I  know  what  you  mean 


ELEANOR  SPEAKS  HER  MIND       217 

by  that.  Naturally,  I  cannot  discuss  those  libels  with 
you." 

"Libels !"  and  Eleanor  laughed.  "If  you  can  believe 
them  that,  one  would  almost  envy  your  credulity.  Pre- 
sumably your  father  has  never  mentioned  our  name  to 
you?" 

Anthea  was  somewhat  startled,  for,  though  Merril 
certainly  had  not  done  so,  she  remembered  the  momen- 
tary expression  of  his  face  when  Forster  had  mentioned 
Miss  Wheelock.  She  also  remembered  Jimmy's  attitude 
on  the  evening  she  met  him  at  Austerly's,  and  the  sug- 
gestion of  distance  in  Forster's  manner  to  her  father. 
It  seemed  that  there  were  others  as  well  as  the  rancher 
who  did  not  believe  the  statements  made  in  the  paper  to 
be  libelous. 

"He  has  not,"  she  said  very  quietly.  "Still,  as  I  said, 
these  are  subjects  I  cannot  discuss  with  everybody." 

"And  yet  you  were  anxious  to  know  why  friendliness 
was  out  of  the  question  between  you  and  me!  Well,  I 
admit  that  I  find  a  certain  pleasure  in  telling  you,  and 
it  isn't  quite  unnatural.  You  read  how  my  father — 
Jimmy's  father — died,  but  you  do  not  know  how  he 
came  to  be  living  in  that  sordid  shanty,  an  infirm  and 
nerveless  man.  Your  father  slowly  ruined  him,  wring- 
ing his  few  dollars  out  of  him  one  by  one,  by  practices 
no  honorable  man  would  condescend  to,  until  there  was 
nothing  more  he  could  lay  his  grasping  hands  upon. 
When  that  happened  my  father  was  broken  in  health 
and  courage,  and  only  wished  to  hide  what  he  felt,  most 
foolishly,  was  shameful  poverty.  There  were  other 
things — things  I  cannot  tell  you  of — but  they  make  it 


218  THRICE    ARMED 

clear  that  your  father  is  directly  responsible  for  my 
father's  death." 

She  stopped  abruptly  and  took  up  her  sewing,  but 
her  face  looked  very  grim  and  vindictive  in  its  dead 
pallor,  for  the  spot  of  color  had  faded  now,  and  pres- 
ently she  flung  the  dainty  fabric  down  again  and  looked 
steadily  at  her  companion.  Neither  of  them  spoke  for 
almost  a  minute,  and  once  more  Anthea  felt  the  stillness 
of  the  ranch-house  and  the  heavy  honey-like  smell  of 
the  pines  curiously  oppressive.  She  believed  in  her 
father,  or  had  made  up  her  mind  to  do  so,  which  was, 
however,  perhaps  not  quite  the  same  thing;  but  she 
could  not  doubt  that  Eleanor  Wheelock  was  firmly  per- 
suaded of  the  accuracy  of  the  indictment  that  she  had 
made.  The  passionate  vindictive  thrill  in  her  voice  had 
been  absolutely  genuine,  and  Anthea  recognized  that  it 
could  not  have  been  so  without  some  reason.  Then 
Eleanor  spoke  again. 

"You  may  wonder  why  I  have  told  you  this — though 
I  am  not  quite  sure  that  you  do,"  she  said.  "Well,  you 
at  least  understand  why  I  resent  your  sympathy,  and  if 
I  had  any  other  purpose  it  may  perhaps  appear  to  you 
when  you  think  over  what  you  have  heard." 

Anthea  rose  at  last,  and  turned  toward  her  quietly, 
but  with  a  certain  rigidity  of  pose  which  had  its  signifi- 
cance. She  stood  very  straight  and  looked  at  her  com- 
panion with  big,  grave  eyes. 

"You  have,  at  least,  said  all  I  care  to  listen  to,"  she 
said. 

"And  I  think  sufficient,"  said  Eleanor,  with  a  bitter 
smile. 


ELEANOR  SPEAKS  HER  MIND       219 

Then,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  Anthea,  Forster  came  in, 
and  dropped  into  a  chair. 

"I  fancy  Jake  will  fix  that  wheel ;  but  he  may  be  an 
hour  yet,  and  it's  very  hot,"  he  said.  "I  don't  want  to 
break  off  your  talk,  but  perhaps  you  could  make  us 
some  tea,  Miss  Wheelock.  I  don't  feel  like  waiting 
until  supper." 

Eleanor  went  out,  and  Anthea  found  it  cost  her  an 
effort  to  talk  tranquilly  to  Forster.  She  liked  the  man, 
but  her  mind  was  busy,  and  had  there  been  any  means 
available  she  would  gladly  have  escaped  from  him.  It 
was  evident  that  Eleanor  Wheelock  believed  what  she 
had  told  her.  The  rancher  who  had  kept  his  jumper  in 
the  way  was  as  clearly  persuaded  that  Merril  had  in- 
jured him,  and  it  was  conceivable  that  the  newspaper- 
man also  believed  his  statements  warranted.  If  they 
were  right,  her  father  must  have  treated  several  people 
with  considerable  harshness,  but  she  could  not  bring 
herself  to  admit  that — at  least,  just  then.  She  natur- 
ally did  not  know  Eleanor  Wheelock  had  foreseen  that 
once  her  doubts  were  aroused,  enlightenment  would 
presently  follow.  Then  there  was  the  latter's  veiled 
suggestion  that  she  was  attracted  by  Jimmy  Wheelock, 
and  had  condescended  to  cajole  or  encourage  him.  Had 
she  been  alone,  her  cheeks  would  have  tingled  at  the 
thought  of  it,  for  in  one  respect  the  notion  was  intol- 
erable. Still,  though  it  cost  her  an  effort,  she  contrived 
to  discourse  with  Forster,  until  at  last  the  hired  man  an- 
nounced that  the  wheel  was  fixed,  and,  thanking  the 
rancher  for  his  offer  to  accompany  her,  she  drove  on  to 
Vancouver  alone. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

WOOD  PULP 

THE  fresh  northwest  breeze  that  crisped  the  Inlet 
swept  in  through  the  open  ports  and  set  the 
cigar  smoke  eddying  about  the  table,  when 
Jimmy  sat  with  Jordan  and  another  man  in  the  Shasta's 
little  stern  cabin.  Looking  forward  through  the  hooked- 
back  door,  he  could  see  the  lower  yards  and  serried 
shrouds  of  a  big  iron  ship  that  was  lying  half-loaded 
on  the  Shasta's  starboard  side.  Beyond  her  there  rode 
a  little  schooner  with  reefed  mainsail  and  boom  foresail 
thrashing,  while  the  musical  clinketty-clank  of  her  wind- 
lass betokened  that  she  was  just  going  to  sea.  Jimmy's 
face  grew  a  trifle  hard  as  he  heard  it,  for  she  was  the 
Tyee. 

Jordan  sprawled  on  a  settee  not  far  away,  and  a 
burly,  red-faced  Briton  who  commanded  the  iron  ship 
sat  opposite  to  Jimmy,  cigar  in  hand.  The  latter  had 
the  faculty  some  people  possess  of  making  friends,  and, 
though  they  had  after  all  seen  very  little  of  him,  the 
shipmaster's  manner  was  confidential. 

"If  the  canners  who  are  loading  me  had  kept  their 
promise  I'd  be  driving  south  with  the  royals  on  her 
before  this  breeze  instead  of  lying  here,"  he  said.  "My 
broker  doesn't  know  when  they  mean  to  send  the  rest 

220 


WOOD  PULP  221 

of  the  cases  down  either,  and  it  seems  it's  only  now  and 
then  a  mail  goes  up  that  coast.  In  fact,  I've  almost 
made  up  my  mind  to  run  round  to  the  Columbia.  I 
believe  the  packers  would  load  me  there." 

"Port  charges  and  tugs  are  expensive  items,"  said 
Jordan  thoughtfully.  "Vancouver  freights  are  toler- 
ably good,  and  it  might  pay  you  to  wait  a  week  or  so. 
You  see  that  schooner  on  your  quarter?  She's  going 
up  to  the  cannery  now." 

The  skipper  made  a  little  impatient  gesture.  "How 
long's  she  going  to  be  getting  there  with  a  head-wind? 
Besides,  all  she  could  bring  down  would  be  nothing  to 
me.  I  wouldn't  have  stayed  so  long,  only  that  con- 
founded broker  told  me  a  man  called  Merril  was  send- 
ing a  steamer  up." 

"Then,  since  the  schooner  belongs  to  him,  I  guess  he 
has  changed  his  mind.  How  long  would  you  wait  for 
a  steamboat  load?" 

"A  week,"  said  the  skipper — "not  a  day  more.  I 
believe  I  could  fill  up  on  the  Columbia,  and,  as  there's 
not  another  vessel  offering  for  the  United  Kingdom 
here,  it  would  please  me  to  feel  that  the  canners  would 
have  to  keep  their  salmon." 

Jordan  flashed  a  warning  glance  at  Jimmy.  "Well," 
he  said,  "it  seems  to  me  that  if  you  will  wait  the  week, 
you  are  going  to  get  your  freight.  I  can't  tell  you 
exactly  why,  but  I  wouldn't  break  out  my  anchor  for 
another  eight  days  if  I  were  you." 

"I  can  take  a  hint  as  well  as  another  man ;"  and  the 
skipper  rose.  "In  the  meanwhile,  I'll  go  ashore  and 
stir  up  that  broker  again.  You'll  have  a  head-wind 
if  you're  going  north,  Mr.  Wheelock.  Expect  you 


THRICE    ARMED 

to  come  off  and  feed  with  me  when  you're  back  again. 
Good  luck!" 

Jordan  went  with  him  to  the  gangway,  and  then  came 
back  and  smiled  at  Jimmy. 

"It's  just  as  well  you  made  the  New  Cannery  people 
a  half-promise  you'd  call  this  trip,"  he  said.  "Now  I 
guess  you've  got  to  keep  it.  Things  fit  in.  Merril,  as 
usual,  hasn't  played  a  straight  game  with  those  pack- 
ers. Took  their  transport  contract,  and  when  that 
headed  off  anybody  else  from  going  there,  he  sends  the 
Tyee  up  instead  of  the  steamboat.  You'll  be  at  the 
cannery  two  days  ahead  of  her,  anyway,  and  there's  no 
reason  why  you  shouldn't  get  every  case  they  have  on 
hand." 

Jimmy  made  a  sign  of  comprehension,  and  Jordan 
lighted  another  cigar  before  he  opened  the  paper  he  had 
brought  with  him.  "Now  and  then  the  little  man  gets 
a  show,  though  it's  usually  when  the  big  one  isn't  quite 
awake,"  he  said.  "You  sit  still  there,  and  listen  to  this. 
'The  Provincial  Legislature  at  length  appears  to  recog- 
nize that  its  responsibilities  are  not  confined  to  foster- 
ing the  progress  of  the  bush  districts,  and  one  con- 
templates with  satisfaction  a  change  in  the  policy  which 
has  hitherto  incurred  a  heavy  expenditure  upon  roads 
and  bridges  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  the  ranchers. 
Now  that  retrenchment  in  this  direction  appears  to  be 
contemplated,  there  should  be  money  to  spare  for  equal- 
ly desirable  purposes.'  " 

He  threw  down  the  paper.  "I  guess  that's  going  to 
cost  Merril  a  pile,  especially  as  the  member  for  the 
district  in  which  he  is  starting  his  wood-pulp  mill  shows 
signs  of  going  back  on  him.  From  what  the  boys  are. 


WOOD  PULP 

saying,  Merril  has  a  pull  on  the  man,  but  it  seems  his 
party  has  a  stronger  one." 

"I  don't  quite  understand,"  said  Jimmy. 

Jordan  laughed  softly.  "It's  interesting.  Shows 
how  things  are  run.  Merril  bought  up  a  mortgage  on 
a  half -built  wood-pulp  mill  which  the  men  who  began  it 
couldn't  finish,  and  fixed  things  so  that  by  and  by  it 
belonged  to  him  and  two  or  three  of  his  friends.  Well, 
that  mill  was  put  where  it  is  because  they've  a  head  of 
water  that  will  give  them  power  for  nothing,  and  spruce 
fit  for  making  high-grade  pulp,  but  it's  not  on  the  rail- 
road and  not  near  the  coast.  The  question  is  how  to 
get  their  product  out.  There  are  big  mills  between 
them  and  the  lake  they  could  put  a  steamer  on,  and 
they'll  have  to  lay  down  a  wagon-road,  underpinning  a 
good  deal  of  it  on  the  mountain-side,  and  cutting  odd 
half-miles  of  it  out.  That's  going  to  cost  them  more 
than  putting  up  their  mill." 

"Then  how  did  they  expect  to  hold  their  own  with 
the  mills  now  running?" 

Jordan  chuckled.  "By  getting  the  Province  to  make 
their  road  for  them.  Merril  has  influential  friends,  and 
one  of  them  who  went  up  not  long  ago  discovered  that 
there  was  a  high-class  ranching  district  behind  the  mill ; 
it  only  wanted  roads  to  bring  the  settlers  in." 

Then  his  face  grew  grave,  and  he  sat  silent  a  minute, 
or  two  before  he  spoke  again. 

"Jimmy,"  he  said,  with  a  very  unusual  diffidence, 
"there's  a  thing  that  is  worrying  me.  It  doesn't  strike 
me  as  quite  fitting  that  Eleanor  should  see  so  much  of 
that  blame  Ontario  man  in  Merril's  office.  He  has 
been  over  twice  in  the  last  fortnight  to  Forster's  ranch." 


THRICE    'ARMED 

"Do  you  expect  me  to  tell  her  so?" 

"I  do  not.  Guess  she'd  make  you  feel  mean  for  a 
month  after  if  you  did.  I  want  you  to  remember,  all 
the  time,  that  I'm  sure  of  your  sister — but  I  don't  like 
the  man.  He  had  to  get  out  of  Toronto — and  they're 
talking  about  him  already  in  the  saloons.  Seems  to  me 
she's  playing  a  dangerous  game  in  fooling  him." 

"Fooling  him?" 

"That's  so.  He  put  some  money  into  Merril's  busi- 
ness, and  it's  quite  likely  he  knows  a  little  of  his  hand. 
Eleanor  has  made  up  her  mind  to  know  it,  too." 

Jimmy  flushed.     "The  thing  must  be  stopped." 

"Well,"  said  Jordan  ruefully,  "that's  how  I  feel,  but 
the  trouble  is  I  don't  quite  know  how  it  can  be  done. 
For  one  thing,  I'm  going  to  run  up  against  that 
Toronto  man,  though  I  don't  expect  Eleanor  to  be  nice 
to  me  after  it." 

"You  can't  think  she  has  any  liking  for  him?" 

Jordan  turned  on  him  with  a  snap  in  his  eyes.  "I 
don't.  If  I  did,  I  should  not  have  mentioned  it  to  you. 
Guess  I'd  stake  my  life  any  time  on  Eleanor's  doing  the 
straight  thing  by  me.  It's  what  those — hotel  slouches 
will  say  about  her  I  don't  like  to  think  of ;  and  you  have 
to  remember  she'd  go  through  fire  to  bring  down  the 
man  who  ruined  your  father.  In  one  way,  that's  natural 
— but  the  thing  has  been  worrying  me." 

Just  then  there  was  a  splash  of  approaching  oars, 
and  Jordan  rose.  "That's  the  mate  with  your  papers, 
and  I  guess  I'll  go,"  he  said.  "Get  every  case  of  that 
salmon — and  remember  what  I've  told  you  if  you  hear 
of  any  trouble  between  Eleanor  and  me.  It  won't  be 
due  to  jealousy,  but  because  I've  spoiled  her  hand." 


WOOD  PULP  225 

He  left  Jimmy,  who  remembered  what  he  had  seen  in 
Eleanor's  face  the  night  she  had  talked  to  him  of  Mer- 
ril,  thoughtful  when  he  rowed  away.  It  appeared  very 
probable  that  she  would  make  things  distinctly  un- 
pleasant for  her  suitor  if  he  rashly  ventured  to  inter- 
fere with  any  project  she  might  have  in  view.  Jimmy, 
in  fact,  felt  tempted  to  sympathize  with  Jordan. 

In  a  few  minutes,  however,  he  proceeded  to  take  the 
Shasta  out,  and  drove  her  hard  all  that  night  into  a 
short  head-sea.  She  had  left  the  comparative  shelter 
of  Vancouver  Island  behind,  and  was  rolling  out  with 
whirling  propeller  flung  clear  every  now  and  then,  head 
on  to  the  big,  white-topped  combers,  when  as  he  stood 
dripping  on  his  bridge  a  schooner  running  hard  mate- 
rialized out  of  the  rain  and  spray.  Jimmy  pulled  the 
whistle  lanyard,  and  the  man  behind  him  hauled  his 
wheel  over  a  spoke  or  two;  but  the  schooner  came  on 
heading  almost  for  him,  and  rolling  until  her  mastheads 
swung  over  the  froth  to  weather.  Her  mainboom  was 
down  on  her  quarter,  and  she  had  only  her  foresail  set 
and  a  little  streaming  jib. 

She  drove  the  latter  into  the  back  of  a  big  gray-and- 
white  sea  as  she  went  by,  and  when  she  hove  it  high  once 
more  while  the  water  sluiced  along  her  deck,  Jimmy,  who 
could  look  down  at  her  from  his  bridge,  recognized 
her  as  a  vessel  that  had  once  belonged  to  his  father. 
She  drove  past  with  a  drenched  object  clinging  desper- 
ately to  her  wheel,  and  Jimmy  smiled  as  she  vanished 
into  the  rain  again,  for  it  seemed  to  him  that,  as  his 
comrade  had  said,  fortune  favored  the  little  man  now 
and  then.  Merril  had  evidently  sent  two  schooners  up 
to  the  cannery,  but  the  Tyee  was  some  sixty  miles  astern 


226  THRICE    ARMED 

of  the  Shasta,  and  it  was  clear  that  the  skipper  of  the 
other  vessel  could  no  longer  thrash  her  to  windward  in 
that  weather.  There  was,  he  believed,  a  good  deal  of 
salmon  at  the  cannery,  and  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  take 
the  Shasta  there. 

It  was,  however,  not  particularly  easy.  The  breeze 
freshened  steadily,  until  she  put  her  forecastle  under 
and  hove  her  stern  out  at  every  plunge,  while  her  pro- 
peller shook  her  in  every  plate  as  it  whirred  in  empty 
air.  A  man  could  scarcely  venture  forward  along  her 
brine-swept  deck,  and  at  times  when  Jimmy  had  to 
cling  to  the  bridge-rails  for  his  life  she  rolled  until  all 
her  rail  was  in  the  sea.  He  was  battered  and  blinded 
by  flying  spray,  and  when  the  black  night  came  he 
could  not  see  an  arm's-length  in  front  of  him ;  but  the 
telegraph  still  stood  at  full-speed,  and  the  Shasta 
resolutely  butted  the  big  foaming  seas.  At  last  she 
ran  in  among  the  islands,  where  there  was  smoother 
water,  and  Jimmy  was  rowed  ashore,  red-eyed,  half- 
asleep,  and  aching  in  every  limb,  when  he  had  brought 
her  up  off  a  certain  icy,  green-stained  river.  As  it 
happened,  the  man  in  charge  of  the  cannery  on  its  bank 
was  unusually  pleased  to  see  him,  though  he  did  not  say 
so.  He  gave  Jimmy  a  cigar  in  his  office,  and  when  they 
sat  down  looked  at  him  thoughtfully. 

"It's  rather  a  long  way  up  here,  and  it  will  cost  you 
a  little  in  coal  if  you  mean  to  make  your  usual  trip," 
he  said.  "I  don't  think  I  made  you  any  definite  prom- 
ise." 

Jimmy  smiled.     "Still,  I  said  I  would  call." 

"Then  I  wish  some  of  the  other  people  with  whom  we 


WOOD  PULP 

trade  were  as  punctilious.  I  suppose  you  expect  some- 
thing now  you're  here?" 

"I  do,"  said  Jimmy.  "In  fact,  I  almost  fancy  it's 
going  to  suit  you  to  fill  me  up." 

"I  think  I  mentioned  we  had  a  standing  arrange- 
ment with  Mr.  Merril." 

"You  did,"  said  Jimmy  cheerfully.  "He's  sending 
you  up  two  schooners.  It  will  be  a  week  before  they  are 
here.  I  passed  one  of  them  yesterday  running  back  for 
shelter,  and  the  other's — anyway — sixty  miles  astern 
of  her." 

"The  wind  may  change,  and  they  wouldn't  be  long 
getting  here  with  sheets  slacked  away." 

"It  won't  change,"  said  Jimmy.  "Look  at  your 
glass.  That  rise  means  northerly  weather." 

The  canner  appeared  to  consider.  "Well,"  he  said, 
"I  gave  you  a  few  cases  once  of  twice,  and,  though  we 
have  an  arrangement  with  Merril,  I  can  fill  you  up  one 
hatch  now  at  the  rate  you  fixed." 

"I  can't  trade  on  those  terms.  The  rate  in  question 
was  a  special  cut.  We  made  it  to  get  in  ahead  of 
Merril ;  but  when  the  time  came,  you  didn't  give  us  an 
opportunity  for  tendering  for  your  carrying.  In  fact, 
I  hear  he's  getting  more  than  I  did.  That,  however, 
does  not  directly  concern  me,  and  you  no  doubt  under- 
stand your  own  business ;  but  I  should  like  to  mention 
that  the  Agapomene's  skipper  will  not  wait  a  day  longer 
than  next  Thursday." 

The  canner  looked  hard  at  him.  "You  will  excuse 
my  asking  if  that  is  a  sure  thing?" 

"You  mean  am  I  talking  quite  straight?"  and  a  sug- 
gestive dryness  crept  into  Jimmy's  tone.  "I  can  only 


228  THRICE    ARMED 

say  that  the  man,  who  did  not  know  I  was  coming  here, 
assured  me  of  it  just  before  I  went  to  sea.  It  would, 
of  course,  be  easy  for  you  to  wait  and  find  out  whether 
you  could  believe  me.  Only  the  fact  that  you  had  done 
so  would  naturally  place  you  in  a  difficulty,  since  the 
Agapomene  would  have  gone  to  sea,  and  there  isn't 
another  vessel  offering." 

"Well?"  said  the  canner. 

Jimmy  smiled  at  him.  "I  want  two  things — every 
case  you  have  ready,  and  a  rate  equal  to  what  you're 
giving  Merril.  It  is  not  very  much,  after  all.  As  you 
know,  since  Merril's  schooners  can't  get  here  until  there 
is  a  change  of  wind,  I  could  strike  you  for  double." 

The  canner  sat  silent  a  moment  or  two,  and  then 
laughed  good-humoredly.  "To  be  quite  straight,  the 
last  was  what  I  expected.  Now,  I'm  not  the  only  man 
in  this  concern,  and  the  people  who  have  the  most  say 
are,  as  usual,  in  Victoria.  I  know  why  they  made  the 
deal  with  Merril,  and  while,  as  you  say,  that  does  not 
concern  you,  it  didn't  quite  please  me.  Anyway,  he 
hasn't  kept  his  arrangement,  and  has  put  the  screw  on 
us  in  several  ways ;  so  if  you'll  warp  your  boat  in  we'll 
heave  the  cases  into  her.  There's  just  another  thing. 
Come  back  when  you  lighten  her,  and  if  this  run  of 
fish  lasts  I'll  do  what  I  can  to  make  it  worth  your  while." 

Jimmy  thanked  him,  and  went  out  to  bring  the  Shasta 
alongside  the  little  wharf,  after  which  he  went  to  sleep, 
though  almost  every  other  man  on  board  was  kept 
busy  stowing  salmon-cases  all  that  night. 

It  happened  that  during  the  earlier  hours  of  it  sev- 
eral irate  gentlemen  who  had  the  control  of  a  good  deal 
of  money  sat  in  conclave  in  Merril's  house,  which  stood 


WOOD  PULP  229 

just  outside  the  city  limits  of  Vancouver.  It  was  a 
tastefully  furnished  room  in  which  they  sat,  and  nobody 
could  have  found  fault  with  the  wine  and  cigars  on  the 
table,  but  as  it  happened  both  these  facts  irritated  one 
of  the  gentlemen. 

"I  feel  tempted  to  talk  quite  straight,  and  I  expect 
you'll  understand  me,  Merril,  when  I  say  that  you  don't 
seem  to  have  had  your  usual  luck  over  this  wood-pulp 
deal,"  he  said.  "In  a  general  way,  it's  the  other  people 
who  take  a  hand  in  your  ventures  who  feel  the  pinch 
when  things  don't  quite  work  out  right,  but  in  this  case 
you  have  got  to  bear  it  with  the  rest  of  us." 

Merril,  who  lay  in  a  big  lounge  chair,  little,  portly, 
and  immaculately  dressed,  looked  up  at  him  quietly. 
"If  it's  any  consolation  to  you,  I'm  holding  as  much 
stock  as  the  rest  of  you  put  together.  The  thing  hits 
me  rather  hard,  but,  as  you  say,  we  can  only  stand  up 
under  it — that  is,  if  the  appropriation  grants  are 
thrown  out  by  the  House." 

"They  will  be,"  said  another  man.  "Anyway,  the 
road-making  in  which  we  are  interested  comes  under  a 
clause  that  will  be  struck  off  in  Committee.  It's  a  sure 
thing.  I  can't  quite  blame  the  Legislature,  either,  after 
the  admissions  made  by  the  district  member.  He  has 
gone  back  on  you,  Merril.  You  told  us  you  were  sure 
of  him." 

Merril  smiled  curiously.  "Well,"  he  said,  "it's  a 
little  difficult  to  be  sure  of  anything,  and  as  the  man 
will  be  here  very  shortly  you  can  talk  to  him  yourself. 
That,  however,  will  not  straighten  anything  out.  The 
question  is,  what  is  to  be  done  about  the  wagon-road?" 

"Build  it  ourselves,"  said  another  man.     "It's  either 


880  T.HRICE    ARMED 

that  or  let  the  mill  go,  and,  considering  the  money  I've 
put  in,  I'm  for  holding  on.  Still,  it  will  practically 
mean  doubling  our  capital." 

Merril  nodded  quietly,  and  nobody  could  have  told 
that  to  raise  the  sum  required  would  be  singularly 
inconvenient  to  him.  "At  least!"  he  said.  "You  can't 
get  it  from  outsiders,  either.  All  the  money  in  this 
Province  is  in  mines  and  mills ;  and  bank  interest's 
ruinous." 

"Well,"  said  one  of  the  others,  "I  guess  you  don't 
expect  us  to  feel  obliged  to  you.  There  isn't  any 
probability  of  those  road-making  appropriations  get- 
ting passed." 

"You'll  know  when  Shafleton  comes,"  said  Merril 
dryly.  "Somebody  was  to  wire  him  as  soon  as  the  result 
was  known  in  the  House.  He  came  across  from  Victoria 
this  afternoon,  and  should  be  on  his  way  from  West- 
minster now." 

They  discussed  the  wagon-road,  growing  more  and 
more  impatient  all  the  time,  while  an  hour  dragged  by, 
and  then  two  of  them  rose  to  their  feet  as  a  man,  who 
appeared  somewhat  ill  at  ease,  was  shown  in.  The 
rest,  including  Merril,  sat  still  and  looked  at  him.  He 
waved  one  hand  as  though  disclaiming  all  responsibility 
and  laid  a  telegram  on  the  table. 

"That's  all  I  can  tell  you,  gentlemen.  I'm  sorry,  but 
it  can't  be  helped,"  he  said. 

One  of  them  took  up  the  message,  and  when  he 
passed  it  to  his  comrades  the  storm  broke. 

"You  practically  asked  them  to  vote  no  more  money, 
in  your  last  speech,"  said  Merril. 


WOOD  PULP  231 

"Played  us  for — suckers !"  said  another  man,  while  a 
third  struck  the  table  with  his  clenched  fist. 

"Leslie's  right.  The  straight  fact  is  that  we're 
fooled,"  he  said. 

It  was  significant  that  nobody  had  asked  the  member 
of  the  Provincial  Legislature  to  sit  down,  and  he  leaned 
on  the  arm  of  a  big  lounge  as  though  he  required  sup- 
port, and  blinked  at  them. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "when  I  first  saw  you  about  it  I  was 
willing  to  do  what  I  could,  but  on  going  further  into 
the  thing  I  found  it  couldn't  be  considered  quite  in  line 
with  the  interests  of  the  country." 

One  of  them  laughed  aloud,  sardonically,  and  Mer- 
ril's  face  contorted  into  an  unpleasant  smile. 

"It's  rather  a  pity  you  didn't  make  sure  of  that  be- 
fore you  took  what  we  offered  you,"  he  said. 

The  baited  man  turned  to  them  appealingly.  "You 
know  what  I  promised.  I  would  support  the  bridge- 
building  and  road-making  policy  as  long  as  I  consid- 
ered it  in  line  with  the  interests  of  the  country." 

The  man  who  had  struck  the  table  shook  his  fist  at 

him.  " the  interests  of  the  country.  You  know 

what  you  meant,  and  you  got  your  price,"  he  said. 

"That  remark,"  said  Merril,  "is  quite  warranted. 
Mr.  Shafleton  made  a  perfectly  understood  bargain — 
and  he  got  his  price.  It  is  also  likely  that  he  would 
never  have  been  elected  if  we  had  not  set  certain  in- 
fluences to  work.  Owing  to  the  Government's  finding 
a  change  of  policy  convenient,  he  has  not  kept  his  bar- 
gain. The  question,  however,  is  how " 

One  of  the  men  who  was  standing  up  looked  around 
just  then. 


THRICE    ARMED 

"I  guess  it  might  be  as  well  to  have  that  door  shut," 
he  said. 

"If  you  wish,"  said  Merril.  "Still,  there  is  nobody 
in  this  part  of  the  house." 

"Well,"  said  the  other  man,  who  crossed  the  room,  "I 
fancied  I  heard  somebody  a  moment  or  two  ago." 

He  closed  the  door,  and  when  he  sat  down  Merril 
commenced  again,  and  the  member  of  the  Provincial 
Legislature  had  to  listen  to  a  good  many  things  that 
did  not  please  him.  The  rest  also  spoke  bitterly,  in 
lower  tones  now ;  but  it  was  in  one  respect  unfortunate 
they  had  not  displayed  that  caution  earlier,  for  the 
man  who  had  fancied  he  heard  a  footstep  was,  as  it  hap- 
pened, not  mistaken. 


CHAPTER  XX 

ANTHEA  MAKES   A   DISCOVEEY 

WHILE  Merril  discussed  the  prospects  of  the 
pulp-mill  with  his  companions,  Anthea  sat 
by  the  open  window  of  an  upper  room. 
There  was  an  open  book  on  her  knee,  but  it  lay  face 
downward,  and  she  leaned  back  in  a  cane  chair,  looking 
out  upon  the  Inlet  across  the  clustering  roofs  of  the 
city.  The  still  water  lay  shining  under  the  evening 
light,  with  a  broad  smear  of  smoke  trailing  athwart  it 
from  the  steamer  which  had  just  vanished  behind  the 
dark  pines  that  overhang  The  Narrows.  It  drifted 
across  the  tall  spars  of  the  Agapomene,  and  through 
it  a  big  passenger  boat's  tier  of  deck-houses  showed 
dimly  white.  Further  up  the  Inlet  another  dingy  cloud 
drifted  out  from  behind  the  piles  of  stacked  lumber 
about  the  Hastings  mill,  while  the  clatter  of  an  Em- 
press liner's  winches  came  up  through  the  clear  even- 
ing air  with  the  tolling  of  locomotive  bells  and  the  grind 
of  freight-car  wheels. 

All  this  had  a  certain  interest  as  well  as  a  significance 
for  Anthea  Merril.  In  England  the  business  man,  as  a 
rule,  endeavors  to  leave  his  commercial  affairs  behind 
him  when  he  turns  his  back  on  the  city;  but  it  is  dif- 
ferent in  the  West,  where  he  has  no  privacy  and  his 

233 


234  THRICE    ARMED 

calling  is  his  life.  Mills  and  mines,  freight  rates  and 
timber  rights,  are  seldom  debarred  as  topics  at  social 
functions,  and  Anthea  had  acquired  a  considerable 
knowledge  of  these  things,  though  she  had  not  lived 
very  long  in  that  city.  It  was,  of  course,  also  evident 
to  her  that  her  father  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  influ- 
ence and  one  who  had  a  share  in  directing  the  activities 
of  the  Province,  and  this  afforded  her  a  certain  pleasure. 
Several  expressions  overheard  and  facts  that  had  lately 
been  forced  on  her  attention  might,  perhaps,  have 
rudely  dissipated  that  satisfaction  had  she  not  resolute- 
ly endeavored  to  attach  a  more  favorable  meaning  to 
them  than  a  good  many  people  would  have  considered 
justifiable.  She  had  spent  most  of  her  life  with  her 
mother's  relatives  in  the  East,  and  it  was  not  altogether 
astonishing  that  there  was  a  good  deal  in  her  father's 
character  with  which  she  was  unacquainted.  Merril  had 
a  desire  to  stand  well  with  his  daughter,  and  he  had 
sufficient  ability  to  accomplish  what  he  wished,  in  most 
cases. 

By  and  by,  as  she  glanced  at  the  shining  Inlet,  the 
fading  smoke-trail  led  Anthea's  thoughts  away  to  the 
man  who  was  then  doubtless  standing  on  the  Shasta's 
bridge,  and  her  eyes  softened  curiously.  She  could 
now  admit  that  she  knew  what  he  felt  for  her,  because, 
although  he  had  never  told  her,  there  had  been  occasions 
when  his  face  had,  perhaps  against  his  will,  made  it 
very  plain.  What  the  result  of  it  would  be,  she  did  not 
know,  but  she  could  wait,  and  be  sure  of  his  steadfast- 
ness, in  the  meanwhile,  for  circumstances  which  were 
unpropitious  now  might  change,  as,  indeed,  they  were 
rather  apt  to  do  with  almost  disconcerting  suddenness 


in  that  country.  Then  she  tried  to  reconstruct  the 
interview  she  had  had  with  his  sister,  an  occupation  in 
which  she  had  indulged  somewhat  frequently  of  late, 
although  it  troubled  her ;  and  that,  by  a  natural  transi- 
tion, once  more  led  her  thoughts  back  to  her  father. 

It  was  impossible  to  doubt  that  Eleanor  Wheelock 
believed  she  had  grounds  for  bitterness  against  him,  and 
a  curious  something  in  her  brother's  manner  had  once 
or  twice  suggested  that  he  shared  it  too ;  but  Anthea 
endeavored  to  assure  herself  that  they  had  merely 
adopted  their  father's  views  without  sufficient  investi- 
gation. She  was  aware  that  men  who  failed  were  fre- 
quently apt  to  blame  somebody  else  for  it  instead  of 
their  own  supineness,  while  it  was  clear  that  both  parties 
could  not  always  expect  a  bargain  to  be  advantageous. 
For  all  that,  the  girl's  assertions  had  been  startling,  and 
once  more  Anthea  wished  that  she  had  not  heard  them. 
They  vaguely  troubled  her,  since  she  would  not  have  her 
father's  probity  left  open  to  doubt. 

Then,  rising  somewhat  abruptly,  she  flung  the  book 
aside,  and  went  down  the  wide  cedar  stairway  to  search 
for  another  that  might,  perhaps,  hold  her  attention 
more  firmly.  When  she  reached  the  foot  of  it  she 
turned  into  a  corridor,  and  stopped  a  moment  when  she 
heard  a  murmur  of  angry  voices.  She  was  aware  that 
a  member  of  the  Provincial  Legislature  had  reached  the 
house  not  long  ago,  and  that  the  rest  of  her  father's 
guests  had  come  there  to  discuss  something  with  him, 
while  as  the  door  of  the  room  reserved  for  them  had 
been  left  open  a  foot  or  so  she  could  see  within  from 
where  she  stood. 

The  house  stood  high,  and  the  sunlight  still  streamed 


236  THRICE    ARMED 

into  the  room,  while  there  was  something  in  the  pose  of 
the  men  that  seized  and  held  her  attention.  She  had 
heard  nothing  clearly  yet,  but  the  strung-up  attitudes 
and  intent  faces  had  their  dramatic  suggestiveness,  and 
she  lingered.  She  could  see  her  father  sitting  at  the 
head  of  the  table  with  one  hand  closed  hard  on  the  edge 
of  it,  and  a  grim  smile  that  was  quite  new  to  her  in  his 
eyes ;  the  member  supporting  himself  by  the  big  lounge 
and  apparently  shrinking  from  his  gaze ;  and  one  of  the 
others  leaning  forward  in  his  seat  with  his  fist  clenched. 
In  fact,  the  scene  burned  itself  into  her  memory,  and  she 
never  forgot  the  look  in  her  father's  face. 

Then  the  voices  suddenly  became  intelligible,  and  she 
heard  Merril  say,  "It's  rather  a  pity  you  didn't  make 
sure  of  that  before  you  took  what  we  offered  you." 

She  caught  the  legislator's  answer,  and  saw  the  man 
who  leaned  forward  shake  his  fist  at  him,  while  the 
latter's  exclamation  sent  a  little  thrill  of  dismay 
through  her. 

"You  know  what  you  meant,  and  you  got  your  price," 
he  said. 

This  was  sufficiently  plain  in  connection  with  what 
had  gone  before  it,  and  she  waited  in  tense  suspense  to 
see  whether  her  father  would  discountenance  it,  though 
she  felt  that  he  would  not  do  so.  She  saw  him  make  a 
little  sign  of  concurrence,  and  once  more  was  sensible 
of  an  enervating  dismay  when  he  flung  his  answer  at  the 
shrinking  member  of  the  Legislature. 

"A  perfectly  understood  bargain,  and  he  got  his 
price,"  he  said.  "He  would  never  have  been  elected  if 
we  had  not  set  certain  influences  to  work." 

Then  she  roused  herself  with  an  effort,  and,  thinking 


&NTHEA  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY      237 

no  more  of  the  book  she  had  come  for,  turned  softly  and 
flitted  back  up  the  stairway  to  the  room  she  had  left. 
She  made  sure  the  door  was  fast,  with  a  vague,  instinc- 
tive feeling  that  she  must  be  quite  alone,  then  sat  down 
by  the  window  again,  a  trifle  colorless  in  face,  with  both 
hands  clenched.  She  was  a  woman  of  keen  intelligence, 
and  realized  that  there  was  no  room  for  doubt.  Her 
father,  the  man  she  had  endeavored  to  look  up  to,  had 
openly  condemned  himself. 

It  was  perhaps  strange,  considering  that  she  was  his 
daughter,  that  she  had  wholesome  thoughts  as  well  as 
mental  ability,  and  that  honesty  formed  a  prominent 
part  of  her  morality.  The  fact  made  the  blow  more 
cruel,  for  it  was  clear  that  her  father  and  his  associates 
had  been  engaged  in  an  infamous  conspiracy.  They 
had  bought  a  member  of  the  Legislature — bribed  him  to 
betray  the  confidence  the  people  had  placed  in  him ;  and 
though  she  did  not  know  whether  the  bribe  had  been 
actual  money,  that,  as  she  recognized,  scarcely  affected 
the  question.  He  had,  at  least,  promised  to  do  some- 
thing that  was  against  the  interests  of  the  country, 
for  which,  as  one  had  declared,  they  cared  nothing,  and 
would  evidently  have  kept  his  promise  if  circumstances 
had  not  been  too  strong  for  him.  Anthea  had  sense 
enough  to  attach  as  little  credence  to  his  assertions  as 
the  others  had  done. 

She  supposed  that  things  of  the  kind  were  sometimes 
done,  but  only  by  men  without  morality,  and  it  was 
almost  intolerable  to  realize  that  her  father  had  been  the 
instigator  of  one  of  them.  The  fact  seemed  to  bear  out 
all  the  newspaper  had  charged  him  with,  and  made  it 
more  than  probable  that  Eleanor  Wheelock's  assertions, 


238  THRICE    ARMED 

too,  had  been  well-founded.  It  was  with  a  little  shiver 
that  Anthea  realized  that  in  such  a  case  the  father  of 
the  man  who  loved  her  had  in  all  probability  been  ruined 
by  a  nefarious  conspiracy.  His  daughter  had  told  her 
plainly  that  his  death  was  the  direct  result  of  it,  and  if 
that  were  so,  Jimmy  must  hold  her  father  accountable. 
The  thing  was  becoming  altogether  horrible. 

She  did  not  know  how  long  she  sat  there  after  she 
heard  the  guests  take  their  leave,  but  at  last  she  realized 
that  since  she  must  meet  him  on  the  morrow  there  was 
little  to  be  gained  by  keeping  out  of  her  father's  sight 
that  night.  She  was  not  deficient  in  courage,  but  it 
was  with  an  effort  that  she  nerved  herself  to  go  down, 
knowing  that  she  could  not  meet  him  as  though  nothing 
unusual  had  come  to  her  knowledge.  He  was  still 
sitting  in  the  room  where  he  had  spoken  with  his  guests, 
with  a  litter  of  papers  in  front  of  him,  when  she  went  in, 
but  on  hearing  the  rustle  of  her  dress  he  looked  up.  The 
lamps  were  lighted  now,  and  he  started  slightly  when 
he  saw  her  face.  Then  he  brushed  aside  the  papers, 
and  sat  still,  looking  at  her  with  a  little  grim  smile. 
Anthea  felt  her  heart  beat,  for  she  saw  that  he  under- 
stood. 

"Ah!"  he  said.  "Sprotson  fancied  he  heard  some- 
body. It  was  you?" 

Anthea  nodded,  standing  very  straight  in  the  middle 
of  the  big  room  and  wondering,  with  a  fierce  desire  that 
he  should  do  so,  whether  he  would  offer  any  explana- 
tion in  which  she  couH  place  a  little  credence.  Almost 
a  minute  passed,  and  the  man  never  took  his  eyes  off 
her.  She  longed  that  he  would  speak,  for  the  tension 
was  growing  unendurable. 


"You  heard — something — at  least?"  he  said. 

"Yes,"  replied  Anthea,  with  a  cold  quietness  at  which 
she  almost  wondered.  "Enough,  I  think,  to  make  me 
understand  the  rest." 

Again  Merril  said  nothing  for  a  while,  though  he  still 
kept  his  keen  eyes  fixed  on  her  face,  and  at  last  it 
was  without  any  sign  of  anger,  and  in  a  tone  of  grave 
inquiry,  he  broke  the  silence. 

"Well?"  he  said. 

There  was  an  appeal  in  Anthea's  voice.  "Can't  you 
say  anything  that  will  drive  out  what  I  think?"  she 
asked.  "I  want  to  believe  that  I  could  not  have  heard 
or  understood  aright." 

Merril  raised  one  hand,  and  for  a  moment  she  could 
have  fancied  that  there  was  pain  in  his  face.  "I  almost 
think  you  are  too  clever,  and,  perhaps,  I  am  too  wise. 
By  and  by  you  would  not  believe  me.  I  have  known  this 
moment  would  come  since  I  brought  you  to  Vancouver, 
and — though  you  may  scarcely  credit  this — almost 
dreaded  it.  The  thing  has  to  be  faced  now." 

This  time  it  was  Anthea  who  said  nothing,  and  Merril 
went  on  again.  "You  might  never  have  had  to  face  it 
had  you  been  a  pretty  fool,  but  that  could  hardly  have 
been  expected.  You  are  my  daughter.  Still,  intelli- 
gence, as  other  people  have  no  doubt  discovered,  is  not 
always  a  blessing  to  a  woman." 

Again  he  made  a  little  abrupt  movement.  "You  see, 
I  offer  no  palliation.  The  one  question  is  simply — do 
you  mean  to  turn  your  back  on  me?" 

Anthea  looked  at  him  steadily.  "No,"  she  said,  "I 
could  never  do  that.  Still,  must  you  continue  what  you 
are  doing?  Can't  you  give  it  up?" 


240  THRICE    ARMED 

"Sit  down,"  said  Merril  quietly,  and,  rising,  drew  her 
a  chair.  "I  think  we  must  understand  each  other  now 
and  altogether.  To  commence  with,  I  should  have 
liked  you  to  continue  to  think  well  of  me,  though,  con- 
sidering what  you  are,  I  knew  the  thing  was  hardly 
likely.  Now  you  have  made  a  discovery  that  hurts 
you." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  though  there  had  been  a 
certain  elusive  gentleness  in  his  voice,  the  girl  was  sen- 
sible that  she  shrank  from  him.  He  was,  she  realized, 
without  compunction,  and  had  no  regret  for  what  he 
had  done.  Indeed,  his  passionless  quietness  conveyed 
the  impression  that  some  of  the  usual  attributes  of 
humanity  had  been  left  out  of  him.  A  trace  of  confu- 
sion or  anger  would  have  appeared  more  natural,  and 
invective  would  have  been  easier  to  bear  than  this  sug- 
gestive tranquillity. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you  asked  a  very  natural  question. 
What  I  am  doing — my  view  of  life,  in  fact — displeases 
you.  You  ask,  can't  I  give  it  up?  I  ask  why?  Can 
you  offer  me  any  reason?" 

Anthea  said  nothing.  Reasons  occurred  to  her,  but 
they  were  rather  felt  than  concretely  formulated,  and, 
as  she  realized,  would  suffer  from  being  forced  into 
shallow  and  inadequate  expression.  She  also  naturally 
shrank  from  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  play  the  teacher 
to  her  father,  and  had  sense  enough  to  know  that  trite 
maxims  and  virtuous  platitudes  would  have  very  small 
effect  on  such  a  man.  It  was,  perhaps,  not  an  unusual 
feeling  in  one  respect,  for  the  deep  optimistic  faith  of 
the  wise  cannot  be  rashly  formulated  without  its  suffer- 
ing in  the  process.  It  is,  as  a  rule,  the  people  with 


iANTHEA  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY 

shallow  beliefs  who  have  the  ready  tongues,  and  the 
result  of  their  well-meaning  efforts  is  seldom  the  one 
they  desire.  Anthea,  at  least,  recognized  her  disabilities, 
and  kept  silence.  She  also  saw  that  her  father  under- 
stood her,  for  he  nodded. 

."It  is  clear  that  you  are  not  a  fool,"  he  said.  "If  you 
had  been,  the  thing  would  have  been  easier  for  both  of 
us.  I  allowed  you  to  be  brought  up  in  the  conventional 
morality,  knowing  that  you  would  grow  above  what  was 
spurious  in  it,  and  cling  to  what  you  felt  was  real.  If 
you  felt  that,  it  would  be  sufficient  for  you.  Still,  that 
morality  was  never  mine.  I  had  to  face  life  as  I  found 
it,  without  the  money  that  might  have  made  it  easier  to 
regard  it  virtuously,  and  scruples  would  have  insuffer- 
ably handicapped  me.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  do  not 
think  I  ever  had  any.  This  existence  is  a  struggle,  as 
no  doubt  you  have  heard  often  without  realizing  it,  and 
it  is  the  strong  and  cunning  who  get  out  of  it  what  is 
worth  having.  That,  at  least,  is  my  point  of  view.  It 
may  be  the  wrong  one,  but  I  am  satisfied  with  it,  and, 
what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  quite  content  to  leave 
you  yours." 

He  broke  off  once  more,  and  smiled  before  he  went 
on.  "We  have  done  with  that  subject.  I  would  not 
influence  you  against  your  belief — which  is  the  prettier 
one — if  I"  could,  and  I  do  not  think  you  could  influence 
me.  In  fact,  one  feels  diffident  about  having  said  so 
much.  Well,  it  is  the  days  to  come  we  have  to  consider. 
I  am  not  likely  to  change  my  code,  and  you  do  not 
tfish  to  leave  me?" 

Again,  for  just  a  moment,  the  faint  tenderness  crept 
into  his  voice,  and  the  girl's  nature  stirred  in  answer. 


242  THRICE    ARMED 

"No,"  she  said,  "there  is  nothing  that  could  make 
me  wish  to  do  that.'* 

"Well,"  said  the  man,  with  a  dry  smile,  "we  will  try 
to  avoid  offending  each  other,  and  I  should  have  been 
sorry  had  you  gone  away.  In  fact,  it  is  a  relief  tc 
know  that  you  will  be  with  me.  My  affairs  have  not 
been  going  well  lately." 

This  was  sufficiently  matter-of-fact,  but  in  spite  of 
the  vague  shrinking  from  him  of  which  she  was  still 
sensible,  Anthea  was  touched.  She  could  not,  how- 
ever, concretely  realize  what  she  felt,  and  wisely  made 
no  attempt  to  express  it.  Instead,  she  spoke  of  some- 
thing else,  seizing  on  an  immaterial  point  that  casually 
occurred  to  her. 

"I  fancied  you  were  a  prosperous  man,"  she  said. 

"So  do  many  people,"  said  Merril  dryly.  "It  was  by 
leading  them  to  believe  it  that  I've  done  what  I  have 
done.  My  operations  are  for  the  most  part  conducted 
with  other  people's  money.  Still,  one  has  to  face  re- 
verses now  and  then,  and  when  two  or  three  of  them 
come  together  the  people  who  support  one  commence 
to  doubt  their  wisdom.  Then  they  are  apt  to  back 
down  and  become  virtuously  scrupulous,  while  the  men 
with  a  grudge  against  one  waken  up  and  fancy  their 
turn  has  come.  In  my  case  there  are  evidently  quite  a 
few  of  them." 

He  laughed  softly,  but  in  a  fashion  that  jarred  on 
the  girl.  "Still,  it  is  very  probable  that  I  shall  Iceep 
ahead  of  them,  after  all.  In  any  case,  I  won't  offend 
you  by  suggesting  that  the  odd  chance  of  your  having 
to  dispense  with  what  I  have  been  able  to  offer  you  so 
far  would  count  for  very  much." 


"Thank  you  for  that,"  said  Anthea  softly. 

Merril  turned  to  the  papers  before  him.  "Well,"  he 
said,  "now  we  understand,  and,  as  you  see,  I  am  busy." 

Anthea  went  out,  not  reassured,  but  more  tranquil. 
She  realized  what  her  duty  was,  and  purposed  to  do  it ; 
but  while  there  was  still  a  tenderness  for  the  man  in  her, 
there  was  also  something  about  him  besides  his  avowed 
point  of  view  and  the  actions  it  led  to,  that  repelled 
her.  He  had,  it,  seemed,  an  intellect  that  was  unham- 
pered by  the  usual  passions  and  affections  of  humanity. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

JIMMY   GROWS   RESTLESS 

THE  city  was  almost  insufferably  hot,  and  Jimmy, 
who  had  time  on  his  hands  that  afternoon, 
found  it  pleasant  to  saunter  through  the  dim 
green  shadow  among  the  Stanley  pines  which  crowd 
close  up  to  its  western  boundary.  They  rose  about  him, 
old  and  great  of  girth,  a  tremendous  colonnade  of 
towering  trunks,  two  hundred  feet  above  the  narrow 
riband  of  driving  road  which  was  further  walled  in  by 
tall  green  fern.  There  was  drowsy  silence  in  those  dim 
recesses,  and  a  solemnity  which  the  occasional  faint 
hoot  of  a  whistle  or  tolling  of  a  locomotive  bell  did  not 
seem  to  dissipate,  for  the  civic  authorities  had,  up  to 
that  time,  at  least,  with  somewhat  unusual  wisdom  made 
no  attempt  to  improve  on  what  nature  had  done  for 
them.  Here  they  cut  a  little  foot-path,  there  a  wavy 
driving  road,  but  except  for  that  they  left  the  Stanley 
Park  a  beautiful  strip  of  primeval  wilderness. 

Jimmy  had  arrived  in  Vancouver  a  few  hours  earlier 
with  the  Shasta  loaded  deep,  but,  although  affairs  had 
been  going  tolerably  well  with  the  Company,  this  fact 
afforded  him  no  very  great  satisfaction.  He  liked  the 
sea,  and  had  succeeded  in  making  firm  friends  of  most  of 
the  ranchers  and  salmon-packers  whose  produce  he 

244 


JIMMY  GROWS  RESTLESS  245 

carried ;  but  there  was  ambition  in  him,  and.  of  late  he 
had  been  growing  vaguely  restless.  After  all,  the 
command  of  a  boat  like  the  Shasta,  with  some  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  odd  tons  of  carrying  capacity,  could  not 
be  expected  to  prove  a  very  lucrative  occupation,  and 
Jimmy  now  and  then  remembered  regretfully  that  he 
might  have  had  a  commission  in  the  Navy.  He  had 
also  an  incentive  for  desiring  advancement,  upon  which, 
however,  he  seldom  permitted  himself  to  dwell,  since  on 
two  occasions  he  and  Anthea  Merril  had  read  in  each 
other's  eyes  a  fact  that  had  a  vital  significance  to  both 
of  them.  Jimmy  scarcely  dared  remember  it,  but  he 
felt  that  the  girl  would  listen  when  he  thought  it  fit  to 
speak. 

That,  however,  was  in  the  meanwhile  out  of  the 
question.  He  must  by  some  means  first  make  his  mark, 
and,  as  happens  not  infrequently  in  similar  circum- 
stances to  other  men,  he  did  not  know  how  it  was  to  be 
done.  One  thing,  at  least,  was  clear :  he  could  not  ex- 
pect to  advance  himself  very  much  by  commanding 
the  Shasta.  There  was  also,  in  any  case,  Merril's 
opposition  to  count  on,  while  the  bitterness  Eleanor 
had  endued  him  with  against  the  man  she  held  respon- 
sible for  the  death  of  his  father  had  its  effect,  and  it 
was  in  an  unusually  somber  mood  that  Jimmy  strolled 
through  the  shadow  of  the  pines  that  hot  afternoon. 

By  and  by  he  heard  a  soft  thud  of  hoofs,  and,  looking 
up,  felt  the  blood  creep  into  his  face.  He  recognized  the 
costly  team  that  swung  out  of  the  shadow,  and  the  girl 
in  the  white  dress  who  held  the  reins  in  the  vehicle  be- 
hind them.  Pie  also  recognized  the  lady  beside  her,  for 
her  husband  was  an  Englishman  who  held  high  office 


246  THRICE    ARMED 

under  the  Crown  in  Victoria.  The  fact  that  she  was 
sitting  by  Anthea  Merril's  side  suggested  how  far  cir- 
cumstances held  the  latter  apart  from  the  Shasta  s 
skipper.  Silver-mounted  harness  and  splendid  horses 
had  the  same  effect,  and,  since  these  things  also  remind- 
ed him  of  something  else,  Jimmy  unfortunately  lost  his 
head.  A  sudden  vindictive  anger  came  upon  him  as  he 
remembered  that  the  money  that  provided  them  and 
stood  as  a  barrier  between  him  and  the  girl  had  been 
wrung  from  struggling  men,  and  that  some  of  it  at 
least  was  the  result  of  his  father's  ruin. 

It  was,  of  course,  not  reasonable  to  blame  Anthea  for 
this,  but  Jimmy  was  scarcely  in  a  mood  just  then  to 
make  any  very  nice  distinction,  and,  straightening  him- 
self a  trifle,  he  stood  still  a  moment  looking  at  the  girl. 
He  saw  the  little  friendly  smile  fade  out  of  her  face 
and  a  look  of  perplexity  take  its  place,  and  then,  while 
his  heart  thumped  furiously,  he  turned  and  stepped 
aside  into  a  little  trail  that  led  into  the  shadow  of  the 
bush.  In  another  moment  the  team  swept  past,  and  he 
was  left  uncomfortably  conscious  that  he  had  made  a 
fool  of  himself.  The  feeling,  while  far  from  pleasant, 
is  no  doubt  wholesome,  which  is  fortunate,  since  there 
are  probably  very  few  men  who  are  not  now  and  then 
sensible  of  it. 

It  was  half  an  hour  later  when  Anthea  came  up  with 
him  again.  The  road  was  narrow  and  crossed  a  little 
bridge  near  where  he  was  standing.  As  it  happened, 
another  lady  was  then  driving  a  pair  of  ponies  over  it. 
Anthea  pulled  up  her  team  close  behind  Jimmy,  and 
when  the  impatient  horses  moved  and  drew  the  vehicle 
partly  across  the  road,  he  turned  and  seized  the  head  of 


JIMMY  GROWS  RESTLESS  247 

the  nearest.  He  did  not  know  much  about  horses,  but 
he  contrived  to  back  the  team  sufficiently  to  leave  a 
passage,  and  was  unpleasantly  sensible  that  Anthea  was 
watching  him  with  a  little  smile.  It  brought  a  tinge  of 
darker  color  to  her  face,  and  hurt  him  considerably 
more  than  if  she  had  shown  resentment  of  his  previous 
attitude  by  any  suggestion  of  distance.  There  is,  after 
all,  a  certain  vague  consolation  in  feeling  that  one  is 
able  to  offend  a  person  whose  good-will  is  valuable. 
Anthea  perhaps  realized  this,  for  when  the  other  team 
had  gone  by  she  made  a  sign  to  him.  Jimmy,  who 
felt  far  from  comfortable,  approached  the  vehicle,  and 
the  girl  looked  down  at  him,  with  the  twinkle  still  in  her 
eyes. 

"Thank  you!    That  is  permissible?"  she  said. 

Jimmy  flushed  again.  "In  any  case,  I'm  not  sure  it's 
exactly  what  I  deserve." 

"Well,"  said  Anthea  reflectively,  "I  really  was  won- 
dering whether  you  saw  us  a  little  while  ago." 

"I  did,"  said  Jimmy,  meeting  her  inquiring  gaze. 
"Still,  perhaps  there  were  excuses  for  me." 

There  was  a  scarcely  perceptible  change  in  Anthea's 
expression,  but  Jimmy  noticed  it,  though  he  did  not 
know  that  she  was  thinking  of  what  his  sister  had  told 
her.  Next  moment  she  smiled  at  him  again. 

"I  scarcely  think  it  would  be  worth  while  to  make 
them,"  she  said. 

Then  she  shook  the  reins,  and  left  him  standing  in  the 
road.  When  they  were  out  of  earshot  her  companion 
turned  to  her. 

"Who  is  that  young  man?"  she  asked. 

"Captain  Wheelock  of  the  Shasta" 


248  THRICE    ARMED 

"Ah!"  said  the  other;  "I  remember  hearing  about 
him.  The  man  who  took  off  the  schooner's  skipper? 
But  what  did  he  mean  by  saying  that  there  were  excuses 
for  his  not  seeing  you?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Anthea,  who  contrived  to  smile, 
though  she  was  rather  more  thoughtful  than  usual.  "I 
don't  mind  admitting  that  the  question  has  a  certain 
interest.  Still,  one  cannot  always  demand  an  explana- 
tion." 

Her  companion  flashed  a  keen  glance  at  her.  "Well," 
she  said,  "I  almost  fancy  it  would  have  been  a  sufficient 
one  if  you  had  heard  it.  In  fact,  I  think  I  should  like 
that  man.  After  all,  honesty  is  a  quality  that  wears 
well.  But  what  is  a  man  of  his  description  doing  in 
that  very  little  and  somewhat  dirty  Shasta?  I  made 
somebody  point  her  out  to  me  one  day  in  Victoria." 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Anthea;  "that  is,  I  know  why 
he  went  on  board  her  in  the  first  case,  but  not  why  he 
seems  content  to  stay  there  altogether.  Still,  it  natur- 
ally isn't  a  matter  of  any  particular  consequence." 

Then  they  spoke  of  other  things,  while  Jimmy,  who 
suddenly  remembered  that  he  was  standing  vacantly  in 
the  road,  turned  toward  the  city,  wondering  as  Anthea 
had  done  why  he  had  remained  so  long  the  Shasta's 
skipper.  Now  that  the  trade  Jordan  and  his  associates 
had  inaugurated  had  been  well  established  in  spite  of 
Merril's  opposition,  he  felt  that  they  had  no  longer  any 
particular  need  of  him. 

The  city  was  unusually  hot  when  he  reached  it,  but 
he  fancied  that  alone  did  not  account  for  the  crowded 
state  of  the  saloons  he  passed.  It  also  seemed  to  him 
that  the  groups  of  men  who  stood  here  and  there  on  the 


JIMMY  GROWS  RESTLESS  249 

sidewalks  talking  animatedly  must  have  found  some  un- 
usually interesting  topic ;  but  he  had  his  own  affairs  to 
think  of,  and,  as  they  appeared  sufficient  for  him  just 
then,  he  walked  on  quietly  until  he  reached  Jordan's 
office.  It  was  not  elaborately  furnished.  In  fact,  there 
was  very  little  in  it  besides  a  table,  a  safe,  a  chair  or  two, 
and  an  American  stump-puller  standing  against  one 
wall.  Jordan  sat  reading  a  newspaper,  with  a  cigar, 
which  had  gone  out,  in  his  hand,  but  he  looked  up  and 
threw  the  paper  on  the  table  when  Jimmy  came  in. 

"Read  that.  They've  struck  it  rich  at  last,"  he  said. 
"Guess  there  are  men  who  have  believed  in  that  gold  ever 
since  we  bought  Alaska  from  the  Russians.  Ran  across 
one  of  them,  'most  eight  years  ago,  Commercial  Com- 
pany man,  and  he  told  me  it  was  a  sure  thing  there  was 
gold  up  the  Yukon.  Odd  prospectors  had  struck  a 
pocket  here  and  there,  but  though  they  brought  a  few 
ounces  out,  nobody  seemed  inclined  to  take  up  the 
thing.  Practically  every  white  man  in  that  country 
was  connected  with  the  Indian  trade  in  furs,  and  I'm 
not  sure  they  were  anxious  to  see  an  army  of  diggers 
marching  in.  Anyway,  the  few  men  who  believed  in  the 
gold  couldn't  put  up  the  money  to  prove  their  confidence 
warranted.  Now,  as  you  see,  they've  found  it,  and  be- 
fore long  the  whole  Slope  will  be  humming  from 
Wrangel  to  Lower  California." 

Jimmy  read  a  column  of  the  paper  with  almost 
breathless  interest,  as  many  another  man  had  done  that 
day  in  every  seaboard  city  and  lonely  wooden  settlement 
to  which  the  news  had  spread.  Then  he  looked  at  Jordan. 

"The  thing  appears  almost  incredible,"  he  said. 

"It  isn't,"  said  his  companion.     "I  know  what  the 


250  THRICE    ARMED 

Alaska  Commercial  old-timer  told  me  quite  a  while  ago. 
It's  going  leagues  ahead  of  Caribou.  They'll  be  going 
up  in  their  thousands  in  a  month  or  two.  Now,  you  sit 
still  a  minute,  and  listen  to  me.  This  is  a  thing  I  be- 
lieve in,  and  I'll  tell  you  what  I  know." 

He  spoke  for  ten  minutes  with  dark  eyes  snapping, 
and  Jimmy's  blood  tingled  as  he  listened.  Jordan's 
faith,  the  all-daring  optimism  of  the  Pacific  Slope  of 
which  many  men  have  died  in  the  wilderness,  was  in- 
fectious, and  something  in  Jimmy's  nature  responded. 
He  had  fought  with  bitter  gales  and  frothing  seas,  and 
it  seemed  to  him  that  the  struggle  with  ice  and  frost, 
rock  and  snow,  could  not  be  harder.  He  was  also, 
though  he  had  not  quite  realized  it  until  that  moment, 
one  of  those  who  are  born  to  play  their  part  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  battle  between  man  and  nature — and  nature 
is  not  beneficent,  but  very  grim  and  terrible  until  she  is 
subdued,  as  everybody  who  has  seen  that  strife  knows. 

Then  Jimmy  stood  up  and  slowly  straightened  him- 
self, with  a  quiet  smile. 

"You'll  have  to  get  a  new  skipper  for  the  Shasta — 
I'm  going  north,"  he  said. 

Jordan  gazed  at  him  a  moment  in  amazement,  and 
then  laughed  in  a  fashion  which  suggested  that  com- 
prehension had  dawned  on  him. 

"Sit  down  again,"  he  said.  "I  begin  to  understand 
how  it  is  with  you.  Still,  you  can't  afford  to  do  the 
thing  you  want  to.  It  quite  often  happens  that  way." 

"I  fancy  that  what  I  can't  afford  is  to  remain  on 
board  the  Shasta,"  said  Jimmy  dryly. 

"Sit  down,"  said  Jordan ;  "we'll  talk  out  this  thing. 
Now,  why  do  you  want  to  go  up  there  ?" 


JIMMY  GROWS  RESTLESS  251 

Jimmy  did  as  he  was  bidden,  though  there  was  a  sig- 
nificant gleam  in  his  eyes.  "Well,"  he  said,  "perhaps  it's 
your  due  that  I  should  tell  you.  For  one  thing,  be- 
cause I  feel  that  I  must.  I'm  not  sure  you'll  under- 
stand me,  but  I  feel  it's  what  I  was  made  for.  There 
are  half-frozen  swamps  to  be  crossed,  leagues  of  forest, 
canons,  melting  snow  to  be  floundered  through.  That 
kind  of  thing  gets  hold  of  some  of  us.  I  feel  I  have  to 
go.  Secondly,  there  seems  to  be  gold  up  there.  I  want 
the  money." 

Jordan  noisily  thrust  back  his  chair,  and  then  took 
up  a  pen  and,  apparently  without  recognizing  what  he 
was  doing,  snapped  it  across. 

"Stop  right  there!  I  can't  stand  too  much — and 
there's  Eleanor,"  he  said,  and  broke  into  a  harsh  laugh 
as  he  glanced  down  at  the  pen.  "In  one  way,  it's  sig- 
nificant that  I've  broken  the — thing." 

He  said  nothing  for  the  next  moment  or  two,  and 
appeared  to  be  putting  a  restraint  upon  himself,  but 
there  was  longing  in  his  voice  when  he  went  on  again. 
"Lord !  I  guess  it's  in  us.  When  we'd  only  the  wagons 
and  axes  we  worried  right  across  the  continent.  There 
was  always  something  that  drew  us  to  the  place  we 
didn't  know.  The  harder  the  way  was  the  more  the 
longing  grew.  I  was  up  in  the  Selkirks  on  the  gold- 
trail  once,  and  I'm  never  going  to  work  something  that 
life  left  behind  right  out  of  me." 

"Come!"  said  Jimmy  simply. 

The  veins  rose  swollen  on  Jordan's  forehead,  but 
he  struck  the  table  with  a  clenched  fist  and  gazed  at  hisi 
comrade  with  hot  anger  in  his  eyes. 


252  THRICE    ARMED 

"Will  you  stop,  you — fool?"  he  said.  "Don't  you 
know  how  I  want  to  go?  Stop,  or  I'll  throw  you  out 
right  now!" 

He  sat  still,  looking  at  Jimmy  for  perhaps  half  a 
minute,  and  each  was  conscious  of  the  same  longing  in 
his  heart  and  the  same  tingling  of  his  blood,  for  that  is 
a  country  where  men  still  feel  the  lust  of  the  primeval 
conflict  and  the  allurements  of  the  wilderness.  Then 
Jordan  appeared  to  recover  himself. 

"I  guess  we'll  be  ashamed  of  this  afterwards,  but  I 
have  got  to  talk,"  he  said.  "Anyway,  we  can't  all  get 
right  in  with  the  axe  and  shovel.  My  work's  here,  and 
I've  just  sense  enough  to  stay  with  it.  Besides,  it's  a 
sure  thing  that  everybody  who  goes  north  won't  rake 
out  money.  Now,  you  want  the  snow  and  the  canons? 
You  can't  have  them ;  but  I'll  give  you  drift-ice,  blind- 
ing fog,  reefs  and  breaking  surf  instead.  You  want 
money?  Well,  we'll  try  to  meet  your  views  on  that 
point,  and  by  and  by  we'll  double  what  you're  getting." 

Jimmy  gazed  at  him  in  evident  bewilderment,  and 
his  comrade  waved  his  hand. 

"You're  going  to  take  the  first  of  the  crowd  to  St. 
Michael's  in  the  Shasta,  and  the  man  who  can  run  a 
250-ton  boat  there  and  back  again  will  have  all  the 
excitement  he  has  any  use  for.  Half  the  reefs  aren't 
charted,  the  tides  run  any  way,  and  when  the  gale  drops, 
the  fog  shuts  down  thicker  than  a  blanket.  You  can't 
pound  a  rock-drill  or  swing  the  shovel,  but  you  can  hold 
a  steamer's  wheel.  Get  hold  of  that,  and  try  to  under- 
stand it.  It's  the  whole  point  of  the  thing." 

He  stopped  a  moment  as  if  for  breath,  and  then  went 


JIMMY  GROWS  RESTLESS  253 

on  again,  hurling  out  his  wo*ds  incisively  while  his  eyes 
snapped. 

"It's  St.  Michaels  now,  but  by  and  by  they'll  find  a 
way  in  from  the  Pan-handle  or  over  British  soil.  The 
C.P.R.  will  put  big  boats  on,  and  they'll  run  everything 
that  will  float  up  from  'Frisco  and  Portland ;  but  we'll 
be  in  first  and  take  hold  with  the  Shasta.  The  men  you're 
going  to  carry  would  go  in  a  canoe.  She  has  built  up 
the  coast  trade  enough  to  make  it  easy  for  us  to  raise 
the  money  to  buy  another  boat — I'm  hanging  right  on 
to  that  trade  too — and  I  know  of  a  handy  steamer.  I'll 
get  an  option  on  her  now.  She'll  be  worth  considerably 
more  in  a  week  or  two.  You  stand  by  the  Shasta  Com- 
pany, and  do  your  part  in  the  rush  that's  coming  in 
the  way  you  know,  and  you'll  rake  in  more  money  than 
you  ever  would  mining.  We'll  put  a  thousand-ton  boat 
on  before  long  if  you  play  our  hand  well.  I  want  your 
answer  right  off:  are  you  hanging  on  to  us?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy  quietly.  "After  all,  your  point  of 
view  is  no  doubt  the  right  one.  If  the  boat  were  only 
fifty  tons  I'd  start  as  soon  as  she  was  ready." 

Jordan  rose  and  grabbed  his  hat  before  he  flung  a 
letter  across  the  table.  "Then  I'm  going  for  old  Lee- 
son  now.  Hustle,  and  wire  those  people  that  we  want 
an  option  on  that  steamboat  firm  until  to-morrow." 

He  strode  out  of  the  office,  and  when  Jimmy  reached 
the  street  a  minute  later  he  saw  him  running  hard  in  the 
direction  of  Leeson's  house. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

ASHOBE 

IT  was  summer  in  the  north,  and  now  that  the  bitter 
wind  which  had  blown  thick  rain  before  it  had 
dropped,  the  clammy  fog  shut  the  Shasta  in  like 
a  wall.  She  crept  through  it  with  engines  pounding 
steadily,  swinging  to  the  slow  heave  of  the  swell,  while 
Jimmy  stood,  chilled  to  the  backbone,  on  his  bridge,  as 
he  had  done  for  most  of  the  last  forty-eight  hours.  A 
chart  in  a  glass  case  was  clamped  to  the  rail  in  front  of 
him,  and  Lindstrom,  the  mate,  stooped  over  it  with  the 
moisture  trickling  from  his  oilskins. 

"This  thing  is  not  much  good,"  he  said.  "The 
stream  moves  a  different  way  with  the  change  of  wind. 
Also  there  is  discrepancy  in  the  depth  of  water." 

"There  is.  If  I  knew  how  much  to  mark  off  for  lee- 
way in  that  last  breeze  I'd  feel  a  good  deal  easier,"  said 
Jimmy,  who  turned  to  fling  a  disgusted  glance  at  the 
chart,  upon  which  little  arrows,  that  indicated  the 
general  drifts  of  the  currents,  had  apparently  been 
scattered  promiscuously.  Then  he  raised  his  voice. 
"Forward  there !  See  you  have  a  good  arming  on  your 
lead,  and  stand  by  to  let  go  when  I  take  the  way  off 
her!" 

He  pressed  down  his  telegraph  and  a  curious  silence 
254 


ASHORE  255 

followed  the  clang  of  the  gong  when  the  engines 
stopped.  The  Shasta  lurched  on  more  slowly  into  the 
fog,  and  when  Jimmy  swung. up  his  hand  a  man  on  the 
half-seen  forecastle  loosed  the  deep-sea  lead,  while  an- 
other, perched  in  the  mainmast  shrouds,  stood  intent 
with  a  coil  of  slack  line  in  his  hand.  There  was  a 
splash,  the  line  ran  out,  and  when  a  sing-song  cry  came 
up  Jimmy  made  a  little  impatient  gesture  as  he  turned 
to  the  chart. 

"A  fathom  less  than  we  ought  to  have,"  he  said,  and 
raised  his  voice.  "What  bottom  have  you  got?" 

A  couple  of  men  were  busy  hauling  in  the  ponderous 
lead,  and  one  of  them  who  lifted  it  turned  to  the  bridge. 
"Mud,  sir,"  he  said.  "Soft  at  that." 

Jimmy  looked  at  Lindstrom.  "That,  at  least,  is  what 
this  thing  says.  I  suppose  one  ought  to  bring  her  up, 
and  wait  for  a  sight,  but  we  can't  stay  here  a  week  on 
the  odd  chance  of  a  blink  of  clear  weather.  Anyway, 
there's  plenty  water  under  us,  and  we'll  try  the  lead 
again  presently." 

The  mate  made  a  sign  of  concurrence  as  Jimmy 
pressed  down  his  telegraph.  "I  was  at  Kenai  four  year 
ago.  For  two  weeks  we  see  nothing.  How  we  get  there 
I  cannot  tell  you,  but  I  think  it  is  by  good  fortune. 
Also  the  skipper  come  there  often  for  the  Commercial 
Company.  You  do  a  thing  several  times,  then  you  shut 
your  eye,  and  perhaps  you  do  it  again." 

He  went  down  the  ladder,  and  Jimmy  was  left  alone 
except  for  the  silent,  shapeless  figure  in  trickling  oil- 
skins at  the  steering  wheel.  How  he  had  groped  his  way 
to  St.  Michael's  near  the  tremendous  desolation  of  wil- 
low swamps  about  the  Yukon  mouth  he  did  not  exactly 


256  THRICE    ARMED 

know,  but  he  had  accomplished  it  in  spite  of  screaming 
gale  and  blinding  fog,  and  the  treasure-seekers  he  had 
taken  up  had  duly  presented  him  with  a  written  testi- 
monial, which  was  all  they  had  to  give.  A  few  days  of 
clear  weather  had  permitted  him  to  steam  across  to  one 
of  the  Commercial  Company's  factories,  but  since  he 
left  it  he  had  held  southward  at  a  venture  through  thick 
rain  and  fog  without  a  single  glimpse  of  any  celestial 
body.  That  would  not  have  mattered  so  much  had  the 
sea  been  still  as  a  lake  is,  for  then  he  could  have  steered 
by  dead  reckoning;  but  that  sea  is  swept  by  currents 
which  run  for  the  most  part  in  guessed-at  and  variable 
directions,  and  it  was  impossible  to  calculate  how  far 
they  might  have  deflected  his  course  for  him.  In  fact, 
for  all  he  knew,  they  might  have  deflected  it  several 
times  and  set  it  right  again.  He  had  cable  enough  to 
anchor,  but,  as  he  had  said,  he  could  not  stay  there  for 
a  week  or  two  on  the  odd  chance  of  getting  an  hour's 
clear  weather. 

So,  since  the  chart  suggested  that  he  was  clear  of  the 
shore,  he  went  on  leisurely,  leaning  on  his  bridge-rails 
chilled  in  every  limb,  with  the  damp  trickling  off  him, 
while  the  Shasta  bored  her  way  through  the  woolly 
vapor,  until  a  little  while  after  the  lead  had  given  him  a 
reassuring  depth  of  water  she  stopped  suddenly.  Jimmy 
was  flung  against  the  wheel  with  a  violence  that  drove 
all  the  breath  out  of  him,  but  the  next  moment  he  had 
jumped  for  his  telegraph  while  everything  in  the  vessel 
banged  and  rattled,  and  the  gong  clanged  out  his  or- 
ders, "Stop  her!"  and  "Hard  astern!" 

Then  while  the  smooth  swell  lapped  level  with  one 
depressed  rail  the  Shasta  shook  in  every  plate,  and  the 


ASHORE  257 

men  who  came  scrambling  to  her  slanted  deck  looked 
at  him  anxiously.  There  was,  however,  no  clamor  or 
any  sign  of  undue  consternation.  The  men  had  almost 
expected  this,  and  the  energy,  which  for  want  of  direc- 
tion now  and  then  in  such  cases  leads  to  purposeless  and 
unreasoning  scurry,  had  been  washed  out  of  them. 
Jimmy  leaned  quietly  on  the  rails,  and  nodded  in  an- 
swer to  their  glances. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "we're  hard  on.  If  the  propeller  won't 
shake  her  loose  in  the  next  ten  minutes,  we'll  see  about 
laying  out  an  anchor.  Mr.  Lindstrom,  will  you  clear 
the  two  boats  ready,  and  ask  Fleming  if  there's  any 
more  water  in  his  bilges?" 

It  was  twenty  minutes  before  the  pounding  engines 
stopped,  but  the  Shasta  had  not  moved  an  inch  astern. 
The  lower  side  of  her  lifted  as  the  long  gray  swell 
lapped  gurgling  to  her  rail,  and  then  came  down  again ; 
but  that  was  all.  In  the  meanwhile  the  hand-lead  armed 
with  tallow  had  shown  the  bottom  to  be  soft,  and  Flem- 
ing quietly  reported  that  there  was  no  sign  of  any  water 
coming  in.  Then  Jimmy  turned  to  Lindstrom,  who 
once  more  had  climbed  to  the  bridge. 

"If  this  fog  lifts  and  the  breeze  gets  up  as  usual, 
she'll  certainly  break  up,"  he  said.  "If  it  doesn't,  I 
don't  think  there's  any  reason  why  we  shouldn't  heave 
her  off.  We'll  try  it  first  with  the  coal  in.  It's  a  long 
way  to  Wellington,  and  I  don't  want  to  dump  a  ton  if  I 
can  help  it." 

The  big  Scandinavian  went  down  the  ladder,  and  by 
and  by  half  the  men  on  board  the  Shasta  were  engaged 
under  his  direction  in  lashing  a  platform  of  hatch- 
planks  between  the  two  boats  that  lay  beneath  the  fore- 


258  THRICE    ARMED 

castle.  The  long  heave  drove  them  banging  against  the 
Shasta's  side,  and  jerked  the  planks  loose  as  they  strove 
to  lash  them  fast ;  but  at  last  they  accomplished  it,  and, 
while  the  dimness  that  stands  for  the  Northern  summer 
night  crept  into  the  fog,  the  men  on  the  forecastle  head 
lowered  the  anchor  down.  It  was  of  the  old,  stocked 
pattern,  and  though  the  Shasta  was  not  a  large  vessel, 
they  found  it  and  the  cable  which  came  down  after  it 
sufficiently  difficult  to  handle  upon  a  slippery  platform 
that  heaved  and  slanted  under  them.  Still,  the  thing 
was  done  because  it  was  necessary ;  and  with  oars  splash- 
ing clumsily,  because  there  was  little  space  for  the  men 
who  pulled  them,  they  paddled  off  into  the  fog. 

When  they  came  back  the  cable  was  unshackled  and 
the  end  of  it  led  in  through  the  mooring  half -moon  on 
the  vessel's  stern,  and  there  then  remained  the  second 
anchor  to  lay  out.  The  cable  of  this  one  was  unshackled 
too,  but  wire-rope  purchases  were  rigged  to  the  end 
of  it  from  the  after  winch,  and  by  the  time  all  was  ready 
it  was  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  men  were  worn 
out,  and  Jimmy's  eyes  were  heavy  with  want  of  sleep, 
but  nobody  made  any  demur  about  facing  the  further 
work  before  him.  They  knew  what  would  happen  if 
the  fog  lifted  and  the  breeze  that  rolled  it  back  should 
find  the  Shasta  there. 

Jimmy  pressed  down  the  telegraph  on  his  bridge. 
Winch  and  windlass  groaned  and  rattled,  the  wire-rope 
screamed,  and  the  clanking  cable  tightened  suddenly. 
Then  the  thudding  propeller  shook  the  ship  until  she 
quivered  like  a  thing  in  pain  each  time  the  smooth  swell 
lifted  one  side  of  her.  Steam  drifted  about  her,  wire 
and  cable  were  drawn  rigid,  but  she  would  not  budge  an 


ASHORE  259 

inch  in  spite  of  them,  and  Jimmy's  face  was  a  trifle  grim 
when  he  flung  up  his  hand.  The  thud  of  the  propeller 
slackened,  and  there  was  a  silence  that  was  almost 
oppressive  when  winch  and  windlass  stopped.  The 
gurgle  of  the  gray  swell  about  the  steamer's  plates  and 
the  drip  of  moisture  from  the  slanted  shrouds  empha- 
sized it.  Then  Jimmy  signed  to  one  of  the  men. 

"Send  Mr.  Fleming  here,"  he  said. 

The  man  disappeared,  and  the  engineer  looked  grave 
when  he  climbed  to  the  bridge. 

"You'll  be  wanting  to  dump  my  coal  now  ?"  he  asked. 
"How  are  you  going  to  take  her  home  without  it?" 

"There  is  a  good  deal  of  heavy  timber  right  down  the 
West  Coast,"  said  Jimmy  dryly.  "There  are  also  quite 
a  few  inlets  into  which  one  could  take  a  steamer." 

"You  can't  feed  a  boiler  furnace  with  four-foot- 
diameter  pines." 

"They  can  be  sawn  and  split.  Besides,  there  are 
probably  smaller  ones  among  those  four-foot  pines. 
They  don't  grow  that  size  in  a  year  or  two." 

The  engineer  made  a  last  protest.  "I'm  aware  that 
it  won't  be  much  use,  but  it's  my  duty  to  point  out  the 
difficulties.  You  can't  saw  those  trees  without  a  big 
cross-cut,  and  I'm  not  sure  what  my  boiler  tubes. will  do 
under  a  stream  of  resinous  flame." 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy  thoughtfully,  "I  think  I  could 
make  some  kind  of  cross-cut  out  of  a  thin  plate  if  I  were 
an  engineer.  In  fact,  I'd  make  two,  and  keep  a  man 
filing  up  one  of  them  while  I  used  the  other.  Then  I'd 
pump  my  feed-water  rather  higher  than  usual  about 
those  tubes." 

"You  can't  pump  water  round  the  back-end,"  said  the 


260  THRICE    ARMED 

engineer.  "You're  going  to  see  that  resin  flame  make  a 
hole  in  the  back  plate  of  the  combustion  chamber." 

He  stopped,  and  smiled  when  Jimmy  looked  at  him. 
"Well,  now  that  I've  told  you,  I'll  start  every  man  to 
dumping  the  coal  over." 

Worn  out  as  they  were,  the  men  worked  feverishly 
until  noon.  Some  panted  at  the  ash-hoist,  some  stand- 
ing on  slippery  iron  ladders  passed  the  heavy  baskets 
from  one  to  another,  and  the  rest  toiled  amidst  the 
stifling  dust  that  streamed  from  the  bunkers.  Those 
who  could  see  it  were  sincerely  glad  that  the  fog  still 
hung  about  them — clammy,  impenetrable,  and  ap- 
parently as  solid  as  a  wall. 

Then  it  commenced  to  stir  a  little  and  slide  past  the 
vessel  in  filmy  wisps,  and  it  seemed  to  Jimmy  that  the 
smooth  gray  swell  which  lapped  about  her  was  getting 
steeper.  Once  or  twice,  indeed,  it  overlapped  her  de- 
pressed rail,  and  poured  on  board  in  a  long  green  cas- 
cade. He  knew  that  meant  the  breeze  had  already 
awakened  somewhere  not  far  away,  and  that  when  the 
sea  that  it  was  stirring  up  came  down  on  them  it  would 
not  take  it  very  long  to  knock  the  bottom  out  of  the 
Shasta.  So  did  the  men,  and  they  toiled  the  harder, 
until  when  the  bunkers  were  almost  empty  Jimmy  once 
more  stopped  them. 

"Stand  by  winch  and  windlass.  We  have  to  heave 
her  off  inside  the  next  hour,"  he  said.  "Tell  Mr.  Flem- 
ing to  shake  her  with  the  propeller,  and  give  you  all  the 
steam  he  can." 

The  engines  pounded,  the  sea  boiled  white  beneath 
the  Shastd's  stern,  and  wire  and  studded  cable  screamed 
and  groaned  above  the  clamor  of  the  winch  and  the 


ASHORE  261 

thudding  of  the  screw.  For  thirty  long  minutes,  dur- 
ing which  the  uproar  ceased  for  a  moment  or  two  once 
or  twice,  the  Shasta  did  not  move  at  all,  and  Jimmy  felt 
his  heart  thump  under  the  tension,  while  a  cold  breeze 
whipped  his  face.  Then  he  thrust  down  his  telegraph, 
and  his  voice  reached  the  men  on  the  forecastle  harshly 
when  the  engines  stopped. 

"You  have  to  do  it  now,  or  tear  the  windlass  out.  I'll 
give  you  all  the  steam,"  he  said. 

The  men  understood  why  haste  was  necessary.  The 
fog  no  longer  slid  past  them  but  whirled  by  in  ragged 
streaks,  and  the  wind  that  drove  it  came  up  out  of  the 
wastes  of  the  Pacific.  Already  the  long  swell  was 
flecked  with  little  frothing  ridges,  and  there  was  no  need 
to  tell  any  of  those  who  glanced  at  it  anxiously  that  it 
would  break  across  the  stranded  vessel  in  an  hour  or 
two.  Some  of  them  stood  by  clanking  windlass  and 
banging  winch,  while  the  rest  swabbed  the  creaking 
wire  with  grease  and  rubbed  engine  tallow  on-  guide  and 
block  where  it  would  ease  the  strain.  For  five  minutes 
they  worked  in  silence,  and  then  a  shout  went  up  as  the 
winch-drum  that  had  spun  beneath  the  wire  took  hold 
and  reeled  off  a  foot  or  two  of  it.  The  Shasta  swung 
herself  upright  as  a  big  gray  heave  capped  with  livid 
white  rolled  in,  and  a  curious  quiver  ran  through  her 
before  she  came  down  on  one  side  again.  The  roar  of 
the  jet  of  steam  that  rushed  aloft  from  beside  her  fun- 
nel grew  almost  deafening,  but  Jimmy's  voice  broke 
faintly  through  the  din. 

"Lindstrom,"  he  said,  "tell  Mr.  Fleming  he  can  turn 
the  steam  he  daren't  bottle  down  on  to  his  engines." 

Then  a  sonorous  pounding,  and  the  thud  of  the  screw 


262  THRICE    ARMED 

joined  in;  and  by  the  time  the  jet  of  steam  had  died 
away,  the  Shasta  was  quivering  all  through,  while  her 
masts  stood  upright  and  did  not  slant  back  again.  Her 
windlass  was  also  slowly  gathering  the  clanking  cable 
in,  until  at  last  it  rattled  furiously  as  she  leaped  astern. 
Then  a  hoarse  shout  of  exultation  went  up,  and  Jimmy 
drew  in  a  deep  breath  of  relief  as  he  strode  across  his 
bridge. 

"Heave  right  up  to  your  kedge  and  break  it  out,"  he 
said.  "Then  we'll  let  her  swing,  and  get  the  stream 
anchor  when  she  rides  to  it  ahead." 

It  meant  an  hour's  brutal  labor  overhauling  hard 
wire  tackles  and  leading  forward  ponderous  chain,  but 
they  undertook  it  light-heartedly,  with  bleeding  hands 
and  broken  nails,  while  the  Shasta  heaved  and  rolled 
viciously  under  them.  Then,  when  they  broke  out  the 
stream  anchor  under  her  bows,  Jimmy  sighed  from  sheer 
satisfaction  as  he  pressed  down  his  telegraph  to  "Half- 
speed  ahead." 

"We  wouldn't  have  done  it  in  another  hour,  Lind- 
strom,"  he  said.  "We'll  drive  her  west  a  while  to  make 
sure  of  things  before  we  put  her  on  her  course  again ; 
and  in  the  meanwhile  you'll  keep  the  hand-lead  going." 

It  gave  them  steadily  deepening  water,  until  the  sea 
piled  up  and  the  Shasta  rolled  her  rail  under,  so  that 
the  man  strapped  outside  the  bridge  could  do  no  more 
than  guess  at  the  soundings ;  and  Jimmy  told  him  to 
come  in.  Then  he  turned  to  Lindstrom. 

"I'll  have  to  let  up  now,"  he  said ;  "I  can't  keep  my 
eyes  open." 

He  lowered  himself  down  the  ladder  circumspectly, 
and  found  it  somewhat  difficult  to  reach  the  room  be- 


ASHORE  263 

neath  the  bridge;  but  five  minutes  after  he  got  there 
he  was  sleeping  heavily. 

They  made  some  four  knots  in  each  of  the  next  thirty 
hours,  with  the  gale  on  their  starboard  bow.  When  at 
last  it  broke,  Jimmy,  who  got  an  observation,  headed  the 
Shasta  southeastward,  and  a  day  or  two  later  ran  her 
in  behind  an  island.  Then  two  boats  pulled  ashore 
across  a  sluice  of  tide,  and  came  back  some  hours  later 
when  it  had  slackened  a  little,  loaded  rather  deeper  than 
was  safe  with  sawn-up  pines.  Fleming  also  brought 
two  very  rude  saws  with  him,  and  invited  Jimmy's  at- 
tention to  one  of  them. 

"Saws,"  he  said,  "are  in  a  general  way  made  of  steel, 
and  you  can't  expect  too  much  from  soft  plate-iron. 
The  boys  did  well;  there's  not  a  man  among  the  crowd 
of  them  can  get  his  back  straight.  You'd  understand 
the  reason  if  you  had  tried  to  cut  down  big  trees  with  an 
instrument  that  has  an  edge  like  a  nutmeg-grater." 

Jimmy  smiled,  for  he  considered  it  very  likely. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "what  are  you  going  to  do  to  make 
them  serviceable?" 

"Sit  up  all  night  re-gulletting  them  with  a  file.  I 
want  four  loads  of  billets  before  we  start  again;  but 
we'll  take  another  axe  ashore  in  the  morning." 

They  went  off  early,  when  the  tide  was  slack,  taking 
an  extra  axe  along,  while  it  was  noon  when  they  came 
back,  with  one  man  who  had  badly  cut  his  leg  lying 
upon  the  billets.  Fleming,  however,  insisted  on  his  four 
loads,  and  it  was  evening  when  he  brought  the  last 
two  off.  The  men  were  almost  too  wearied  to  pull  across 
the  tide,  and  only  the  handles  attached  to  them  sug- 


THRICE    ARMED 

gested  that  the  two  worn  strips  of  iron  they  passed  up 
had  been  meant  for  saws. 

"That,"  said  Fleming,  who  held  one  up  before  Jimmy, 
"says  a  good  deal  for  the  boys ;  but  if  I  drove  them  the 
same  way  any  longer  there  would  be  a  mutiny." 

Jimmy  laughed,  and  told  him  to  raise  steam  enough 
to  take  the  Shasta  to  sea.  She  made  six  knots  most  of 
that  night;  and  two  days  later  the  men  went  ashore 
again.  Fleming,  at  least,  never  forgot  the  rest  of  that 
trip  down  the  wild  West  Coast.  He  mixed  his  resinous 
billets  with  saturated  coal-dust  and  broken  hemlock 
bark,  but  in  spite  of  it  he  stopped  the  Shasta  every  now 
and  then  when  his  boilers  gave  him  water  instead  of 
steam. 

Still,  she  crept  on  south,  and  at  last  all  of  them  were 
sincerely  glad  when  the  pithead  gear  of  the  Dunsmore 
mines  rose  up  against  the  forests  of  Vancouver  Island 
over  the  starboard  hand.  An  hour  or  two  later  Fleming 
stood  blackened  all  over  amidst  a  gritty  cloud  while  the 
coal  that  was  to  free  him  from  his  cares  clattered  into 
the  Shasta's  bunkers,  and  Jimmy  sat  in  the  room  be- 
neath her  bridge  with  one  of  the  coaling  clerks  writing 
out  a  telegram. 

"I'll  get  it  sent  off  for  you  right  away,"  said  the  coal- 
ing man.  "Guess  it  will  be  a  big  relief  to  somebody. 
It  seems  they've  'most  given  you  up  in  Vancouver." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "Well,"  he  said,  "we  have  brought 
her  here.  Still,  I  think  there  were  times  when  my  engi- 
neer felt  that  the  contract  was  almost  too  big  for  him." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

ANTHEA  GROWS  ANXIOUS 

THE  afternoon  was  hot,  but  Jordan  failed  to 
notice  it  as  he  swung  along,  as  fast  as  he  could 
go  without  actually  running,  down  a  street  in 
Vancouver.  He  walked  in  the  glaring  sunlight,  because 
there  was  more  room  there,  as  everybody  else  was  glad 
to  seek  the  shadow  cast  across  one  sidewalk  by  the  tall 
stores  and  offices,  and  he  appeared  unconscious  of  the 
remarks  flung  after  him  by  the  irate  driver  of  an  ex- 
press wagon  which  had  almost  run  over  him.  Jordan 
was  one  of  the  men  who  are  always  desperately  busy, 
but  there  were  reasons  why  his  activity  was  a  little  more 
evident  than  usual  just  then.  His  associates  had  con- 
trived to  raise  sufficient  money  to  purchase  a  boat  to 
take  up  the  Shasta's  usual  trip,  but  the  finances  of  the 
Company  were  in  a  somewhat  straitened  condition  as 
the  result  of  it,  and  he  was  beset  with  a  good  many  other 
difficulties  of  the  kind  the  struggling  man  has  to  grap- 
ple with. 

For  all  that,  he  stopped  abruptly  when  he  saw 
Forster's  driving-wagon,  a  light  four-wheeled  vehicle, 
standing  outside  a  big  dry-goods  store.  He  was  aware 
that  Mrs.  Forster  seldom  went  to  Vancouver  without 
taking  Eleanor  with  her,  which  appeared  sufficient 


266 

reason  for  believing  that  the  girl  was  then  inside  the 
store.  If  anything  further  were  needed  to  indicate  the 
probability  of  this,  there  was  a  well-favored  and  very 
smartly-dressed  man  standing  beside  the  wagon,  and 
Jordan's  face  grew  suddenly  hard  as  he  looked  at  him. 
As  it  happened,  the  man  glanced  in  his  direction  just 
then,  and  Jordan  found  it  difficult  to  keep  a  due  re- 
straint upon  himself  when  he  saw  the  sardonic  twinkle 
in  his  eyes.  It  was  more  expressive  than  a  good  many 
words  would  have  been. 

Jordan  had  for  some  time  desired  an  interview  with 
him,  but,  warm-blooded  and  somewhat  primitive  in  his 
notions  upon  certain  points  as  he  was,  he  had  sense 
enough  to  realize  that  he  was  not  likely  to  gain  anything 
by  an  altercation  in  a  busy  street,  which  would  certainly 
not  advance  him  in  Eleanor's  favor.  Besides  this,  it  was 
probable  that  somebody  would  interfere  if  he  found  it 
necessary  to  resort  to  physical  force.  Jordan,  who 
TV  as  by  no  means  perfect  in  character,  had,  like  a  good 
many  other  men  brought  up  as  he  had  been  in  the 
forests  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  no  great  aversion  to  re- 
sorting to  the  latter  when  he  considered  that  the  occa- 
sion warranted  it. 

Still,  he  held  himself  in  hand,  and  strode  into  the 
store  where,  as  it  happened,  he  came  upon  Mrs.  Forster. 
There  was  a  faint  smile  in  her  eyes  when  she  turned 
to  him,  for  she  was  a  lady  of  considerable  discernment ; 
but  she  held  out  her  hand  graciously.  She  liked  the 
impulsive  man. 

"It  is  some  time  since  we  have  seen  anything  of  you," 
she  said. 

"That,"  said  Jordan,  "is  just  what  I  was  thinking, 


ANTHEA  GROWS  ANXIOUS         267 

though  it's  quite  likely  there  are  people  who  wouldn't 
let  it  grieve  them.  In  fact,  I  was  wondering  whether 
you  would  mind  if  I  asked  myself  over  to  supper  with 
your  husband  this  evening?" 

Mrs.  Forster  laughed. 

"I  really  don't  think  it  would  trouble  me  very  much, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  Forster  would  enjoy  a  talk 
with  you,"  she  said.  "I  wonder  whether  you  know  that 
Mr.  Carnforth  is  coming?" 

"I  do ;"  and  Jordan  looked  at  her  steadily  with  a 
trace  of  concern  in  his  manner.  "In  fact,  that  was  one 
of  my  reasons  for  asking  you." 

The  lady  shook  her  head.  "So  I  supposed,"  she  said. 
"Still,  while  everybody  is  expected  to  know  his  own 
business  best,  I'm  not  sure  you're  wise.  You  see,  I 
really  don't  think  Eleanor  is  very  much  denser  than  I 
am,  though  you  can  tell  her  you  have  my  invitation  to 
supper." 

Jordan,  who  expressed  his  thanks,  strode  across  the 
store  and  came  upon  Eleanor  standing  by  a  counter 
with  several  small  parcels  before  her.  She  turned  at 
his  approach,  and  he  found  it  difficult  to  believe  that  his 
appearance  afforded  her  any  great  pleasure.  While  he 
gathered  up  the  parcels,  she  made  him  a  little  imperious 
gesture,  and  they  moved  away  toward  a  quieter  part  of 
the  big  store.  Then  she  turned  to  him  again. 

"Charley,"  she  said  sharply,  "what  are  you  doing 
here?" 

"I  saw  Forster's  wagon  outside,  and  that  reminded 
me  that  it  was  at  least  a  week  since  I  had  seen  you." 

Eleanor  smiled  somewhat  curiously,  for  it  was,  of 


268  THRICE    ARMED 

course,  clear  to  her  that  he  could  not  have  seen  the 
wagon  without  seeing  Carnforth  too. 

"And?"  she  said. 

"I'm  coming  over  to  supper  with  Forster.  You  don't 
look  by  any  means  as  pleased  as  one  would  think  you 
ought  to  be." 

The  girl  appeared  disconcerted.  "I  should  sooner 
you  didn't  come  to-night." 

"Of  course !"  said  Jordan.   "I  can  quite  believe  it.'* 

A  tinge  of  color  crept  into  Eleanor's  face,  and  there 
was  now  nothing  that  suggested  a  smile  in  the  sparkle 
in  her  eyes.  "Pshaw !"  she  said.  "Charley,  don't  be  a 
fool!" 

"I'm  not,"  said  Jordan  slowly.  "That  is,  I  don't 
think  I  am,  in  the  way  you  mean.  In  fact,  though  it 
shouldn't  be  necessary,  I  want  to  say  right  now  that  I 
have  every  confidence  in  you." 

"Thanks!  There  are  various  ways  of  showing  it. 
You  haven't  chosen  one  that  appeals  to  me." 

Jordan  flung  out  one  hand.  "After  all,  I'm  human 
— and  I  don't  like  that  man." 

"You  are.  Now  and  then  you  are  also  a  little  crude, 
which  is  probably  what  you  mean.  Still,  that's  not  the 
question.  I  think  I  mentioned  that  I  should  sooner  you 
didn't  come  to  supper  this  evening." 

The  gleam  in  her  pale-blue  eyes  grew  plainer,  and  it 
said  a  good  deal  for  Jordan's  courage  that  he  persisted, 
since  most  of  Eleanor's  acquaintances  had  discovered 
that  it  was  not  wise  to  thwart  her  when  she  looked  as 
she  did  then. 

"I'm  afraid  I  can't  allow  that  to  influence  ni2,  espe- 
cially as  Mrs.  Forster  expects  me." 


ANTHEA  GROWS  ANXIOUS          269 

"Very  well !"  and  Eleanor's  tone  was  dry.  "You  may 
carry  those  parcels  to  the  wagon." 

Jordan  did  so,  and  felt  his  blood  tingle  when  Cam- 
forth  favored  him  with  a  glance  of  unconcerned  in- 
quiry. There  was  a  suggestive  complacency  in  his  faint 
smile  that  was,  in  the  circumstances,  intensely  provoca- 
tive, but  Jordan  contrived  to  restrain  himself.  Then 
Mrs.  Forster  and  Eleanor  came  out,  and  the  latter 
took  the  parcels  from  him. 

"Four  of  them?"  she  said.  "You  haven't  dropped 
any?" 

Jordan  did  not  think  he  had,  and  the  girl  pressed  one 
or  two  of  the  parcels  between  her  fingers.  "Then  I 
wonder  where  the  muslin  is?" 

"I  guess  they  can  tell  me  in  the  store,"  said  Jordan. 

He  swung  around,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  was  back 
at  the  counter.  The  clerk  there,  however,  had  to  refer 
to  one  of  her  companions,  and,  as  the  latter  was  busy, 
Jordan  had  to  wait  a  minute  or  two. 

"I  wrapped  up  the  muslin  with  the  trimming,"  she 
said  at  last.  "Miss  Wheelock  had  four  parcels,  and  I 
saw  you  take  up  all  of  them." 

Jordan  turned  away  with  an  unpleasant  thought  in 
his  mind,  and  was  out  of  the  store  in  a  moment.  There 
was,  however,  no  wagon  in  the  street,  and  after  running 
down  most  of  it  he  stopped  with  a  harsh  laugh. 
Forster's  team  was  a  fast  one,  and  Jordan  realized  that 
it  was  very  unlikely  that  he  could  overtake  it,  especially 
when  Eleanor,  who  usually  drove,  did  not  wish  him  to. 
After  all,  her  quickness  and  resolution  in  one  way  ap- 
pealed to  him,  and  he  remembered  that  he  had  promised 
to  dine  with  Austerly  that  evening.  Still,  he  went  back 


270  THRICE    ARMED 

to  his  business  feeling  a  trifle  sore,  and  one  or  two  of 
the  men  who  called  on  him  noticed  that  his  temper  was 
considerably  shorter  than  usual. 

He  had,  in  fact,  not  altogether  recovered  his  custom- 
ary good-humor  when  he  sat  on  the  veranda  of  Auster- 
ly's  house  some  hours  later.  The  meal  which  Austerly 
insisted  on  calling  dinner,  though  he  had  found  it  im- 
possible to  get  anybody  to  prepare  it  later  than  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  was  over,  and  the  rest  of  the  few 
guests  were  scattered  about  the  garden.  Valentine,  who 
had  arrived  in  the  Sorata  a  day  or  two  earlier,  sat  at 
the  foot  of  the  short  veranda  stairway  close  by  the 
lounge  chair  where  Nellie  Austerly  lay  looking  unusually 
fragile,  but  listening  to  the  bronzed  man  with  a  quiet 
smile.  Austerly  leaned  on  the  balustrade,  and  Anthea 
sat  not  far  from  Jordan.  She  was,  as  it  happened,  look- 
ing out  through  a  gap  in  the  firs  which  afforded  her  a 
glimpse  of  the  shining  Inlet.  A  schooner  crept  slowly 
across  the  strip  of  water,  on  her  way  to  the  frozen 
north  with  treasure-seekers. 

"She  seems  very  little,"  said  Anthea.  "One  wonders 
whether  she  will  get  there,  and  whether  the  men  on 
board  her  will  ever  come  back  again." 

"The  chances  are  against  it,"  said  Austerly.  "It  is 
a  long  way  to  St.  Michael's,  and  one  understands  that 
those  northern  waters  are  either  wrapped  in  fog  or 
swept  by  sudden  gales.  Besides  that,  it  must  be  a 
tremendous  march  or  canoe  trip  inland,  and  before  they 
reach  the  gold  region  the  summer  will  be  over.  One 
would  scarcely  fancy  that  many  of  them  could  live  out 
the  winter.  In  fact,  it  seems  to  me  scarcely  probable 
that  the  Yukon  basin  will  ever  become  a  mining  district. 


ANTHEA  GROWS  ANXIOUS         271 

Nature  is  apparently  too  much  for  the  white  man  there. 
What  is  your  opinion,  Jordan  ?" 

Jordan  smiled,  though  there  was  a  snap  in  his  eyes. 

"It  seems  to  me  you  don't  quite  understand  what 
kind  of  men  we  raise  on  the  Slope,"  he  said.  "Once 
it's  made  clear  that  the  gold  is  there,  there's  no  snow 
and  ice  between  St.  Michael's  and  the  Pole  that  would  * 
stop  their  getting  in.  When  they  take  the  trail  those 
men  will  go  right  on  in  spite  of  everything.  You  have 
heard  what  their  fathers  did  here  in  British  Columbia 
when  there  was  gold  in  Caribou?  They  hadn't  the 
C.P.R.  then  to  take  them  up  the  Fraser,  and  there 
wasn't  a  wagon-road.  They  made  a  trail  through  the 
wildest  caiions  there  are  on  this  earth,  and  blazed  a  way 
afterward,  over  range  and  through  the  rivers,  across 
the  trackless  wilderness.  It  was  too  big  a  contract  for 
some  of  them,  but  they  stayed  with  it,  going  on  until 
they  died.  The  others  got  the  gold.  It  was  a  sure 
thing  that  they  would  get  it.  They  had  to." 

"Just  so!"  said  Austerly,  with  a  smile.  "Still,  if  I 
remember  correctly,  they  were  not  all  born  on  the  Pa- 
cific Slope.  Some  of  them,  I  almost  think,  came  from 
England." 

"They  did,"  said  Jordan,  who  for  no  very  evident 
reason  glanced  in  Anthea's  direction.  "The  ones  who 
got  there  were  for  the  most  part  sailormen.  They  and 
our  bushmen  are  much  of  a  kind,  though  I'm  not  quite 
sure  that  the  hardest  hoeing  didn't  fall  to  the  sailor. 
He  hadn't  been  taught  to  face  the  forest  with  nothing 
but  an  axe,  build  a  fire  of  wet  wood,  or  make  a  pack- 
horse  bridge;  but  he  started  with  the  old-time  pros- 
pectors, and  he  went  right  in  with  them.  It's  much  the 


272  THRICE    ARMED 

same  now — steam  can't  spoil  him.  When  a  big  risky 
thing  is  to  be  done  anywhere  right  down  the  Slope, 
that's  where  you'll  come  across  the  man  from  the  blue 
water." 

He  stopped  a  moment  as  if  for  breath,  with  a  depre- 
catory gesture.  "There  are  one  or  two  things  that 
sure  start  me  talking.  It's  a  kind  of  useless  habit  in  a 
man  who's  shackled  down  to  his  work  in  the  city,  but  I 
can't  help  it.  Anyway,  the  men  who  are  going  north 
won't  head  for  St.  Michael's  and  the  Yukon  marshes 
much  longer.  They'll  blaze  a  shorter  trail  in  from 
somewhere  farther  south  right  over  the  coast  range. 
It  won't  matter  that  they'll  have  to  face  ten  feet  of 
snow." 

Neither  of  the  other  two  answered  him,  but  the  fact 
that  they  watched  the  fading  white  sails  of  the  little 
schooner  had  its  significance.  There  was  scarcely  a  man 
on  the  Pacific  Slope  whose  thoughts  did  not  turn  toward 
the  golden  north  just  then,  and  one  could  notice  signs 
of  tense  anticipation  in  all  the  wooden  cities.  The 
army  of  treasure-seekers  had  not  set  out  yet,  but  big 
detachments  had  started,  and  the  rest  were  making 
ready.  So  far  there  was  little  certain  news,  but  rumors 
and  surmises  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth  in  busy  streets 
and  crowded  saloons.  It  was  known  that  the  way  was 
perilous  and  many  would  leave  their  bones  beside  it, 
and  though,  as  Jordan  had  said,  that  would  not  count  if 
there  were  gold  in  the  land  to  which  it  led,  men  waited 
a  little,  feverishly,  until  they  should  feel  more  sure 
about  the  latter  point. 

By  and  by  Austerly,  who  spoke  to  Valentine,  went 
down  the  stairway,  and  Anthea  smiled  when  the  latter, 


ANTHEA  GROWS   ANXIOUS          273 

after  walking  a  few  paces  with  him,  turned  back  again 
to  where  Nellie  Austerly  was  lying. 

"There  are  things  it  is  a  little  difficult  to  understand," 
she  said.  "Valentine  has,  perhaps,  seen  Nellie  three  or 
four  times  since  she  left  the  Sorata,  and  yet,  as  no 
doubt  you  have  noticed,  he  will  scarcely  leave  her.  She 
would  evidently  be  quite  content  to  have  him  beside  her 
all  evening,  too." 

"You  didn't  say  all  you  thought,"  and  Jordan  looked 
at  her  gravely.  "You  mean  that  the  usual  explanation 
wouldn't  fit  their  case.  That,  of  course,  is  clear,  since 
both  of  them  must  realize  that  she  can't  expect  to 
live  more  than  another  year  or  so.  I  naturally  don't 
know  why  she  should  take  to  Valentine ;  but  I  have 
a  fancy  from  what  Jimmy  said  that  she  reminded  him 
of  somebody.  What  is  perhaps  more  curious  still,  I 
think  she  recognizes  it,  and  doesn't  in  the  least  mind 
it." 

"Somebody  he  was  fond  of  long  ago?" 

Jordan  appeared  to  consider.  "That  seems  to  make 
the  thing  more  difficult  to  understand?  Still,  I'm  not 
sure  it  does  in  reality.  He  is  one  of  the  men  who  re- 
member always,  too.  He  would  not  want  to  marry 
her  if  she  were  growing  strong  instead  of  slowly  fading. 
It  would  somehow  spoil  things  if  he  did." 

"Of  course!"  said  Anthea  slowly.  "In  any  case,  as 
you  mentioned,  it  would  be  out  of  the  question.  But 
how " 

Jordan  checked  her,  with  a  smile  this  time.  "How 
do  I  understand?  I  don't  think  I  do  altogether;  I 
only  guess.  A  man  who  lived  alone  at  sea  or  on  a 
ranch  in  the  shadowy  bush  might  be  capable  of  an  at- 


274  THRICE    ARMED 

tachment  of  that  kind,  but  not  one  who  makes  his  living 
in  the  cities.  One  can't  get  away  from  the  material 
point  of  view  there." 

He  broke  off,  and  sat  still  for  a  minute  or  two,  for 
though  it  was  clear  that  Anthea  had  no  wish  to  discuss 
that  topic  further,  he  felt  that  she  had  something  to 
say  to  him. 

"Mr.  Jordan,"  she  asked  at  last,  "have  you  had  any 
news  about  the  Shasta?" 

Jordan's  face  clouded,  but  he  did  not  turn  in  her 
direction,  for  which  the  girl  was  grateful. 

"No,"  he  said,  "I  have  none.  As  perhaps  you  know, 
she  should  have  turned  up  two  or  three  weeks  ago." 

It  was  a  moment  or  two  before  he  glanced  around, 
and  then  Anthea  met  his  gaze,  in  which,  however,  there 
was  no  trace  of  inquiry. 

"You  are  anxious  about  her?"  she  asked. 

"I  am,  a  little.  It  is  a  wild  coast  up  yonder,  and  they 
have  wilder  weather.  The  charts  don't  tell  you  very 
much  about  those  narrow  seas.  One  must  trust  to  good 
fortune  and  one's  nerve  when  the  fog  shuts  down. 
That,"  and  he  smiled  reassuringly,  "was  why  I  sent 
Jimmy." 

Anthea  felt  her  face  grow  warm,  but  she  looked  at 
him  steadily. 

"Ah !"  she  said,  "you  believe  in  him.  Still,  skill  and 
nerve  will  not  do  everything." 

"They  will  do  a  great  deal,  and  what  flesh  and 
blood  can  do,  one  can  count  on  getting  from  the 
Shasta's  skipper.  I  believe" — and  he  lowered  his  voice 
confidentially — "Jimmy  will  bring  her  back  again. 
That's  why  I  sent  her  up  there  less  than  half-insured. 


ANTHEA  GROWS  ANXIOUS          275 

Premiums  were  heavy,  and  we  wanted  all  our  money. 
Still,  if  he  does  not,  I  know  he  will  have  made  the  tough- 
est fight — and  that  will  be  some  relief  to  me.  You  see, 
I'm  fond  of  Jimmy — and  I'm  talking  quite  straight 
with  you." 

There  was  a  hint  of  pain  in  the  girl's  face,  and  she 
realized  that  it  was  there,  but  his  frankness  had  had  its 
effect  on  her.  It  suggested  a  sympathy  she  did  not 
resent,  and  she  smiled  at  him  gravely. 

"Thank  you!"  she  said.  "There  is  another  thing  I 
want  to  ask,  Mr.  Jordan.  If  you  get  any  news  of  the 
Shasta,  will  you  come  and  tell  me?" 

"Within  the  hour,"  said  Jordan,  and  Anthea,  who 
thanked  him,  rose  and  turned  away. 

Jordan,  however,  sat  still,  gazing  straight  in  front  of 
him  thoughtfully,  for,  though  she  had  perhaps  not  in- 
tended this,  the  girl's  manner  had  impressed  him.  He 
fancied  that  he  knew  what  she  was  feeling,  and  that 
she  had  in  a  fashion  taken  him  into  her  confidence.  It 
was  also  a  confidence  that  he  would  at  any  cost  have 
held  inviolable.  Then  he  rose  with  a  little  dry  smile. 

"She  is  clear  grit  all  through,"  he  said.  "And  her 
father  is  the rogue  in  all  this  Province." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

iJORDAN  KEEPS  HIS  PROMISE 

BRIGHT  sunshine  streamed  down  on  the  Inlet,  and 
there  was  an  exhilarating  freshness  in  the  morn- 
ing air;  but  Anthea  Merril  sat  somewhat  list- 
lessly on  the  veranda  outside  her  father's  house,  looking 
across  the  sparkling  water  toward  the  snows  of  the 
north.      She  had  done  the  same  thing  somewhat  fre- 
quently of  late,  and,  as  had  happened  on  each  occasion, 
her  thoughts  were  fixed  on  the  little  vessel  that  had  ap- 
parently vanished  in  the  fog-wrapped  sea.    Anthea  had 
grown  weary  of  waiting  for  news  of  her. 

Hitherto  very  little  that  she  desired  had  been  denied 
her,  and  though  that  had  not  been  sufficient  to  pervert 
her  nature,  it  naturally  made  the  suspense  she  had  to 
face  a  little  harder  to  bear,  since  the  money  before 
which  other  difficulties  had  melted  was  in  this  case  of 
no  avail.  The  commander  of  the  Shasta  had  passed 
far  beyond  her  power  to  recall  him;  and,  if  he  still 
lived,  of  which  she  was  far  from  certain,  it  was  only 
the  primitive  courage  and  stubborn  endurance  which 
are  not  confined  to  men  of  wealth  and  station  that  could 
bring  him  back  to  her  in  spite  of  blinding  fog  and  icy 
seas.  Anthea  had  no  longer  any  hesitation  in  admitting 
that  this  was  what  she  greatly  desired.  Now  that  he 

276 


JORDAN  KEEPS  HIS  PROMISE       277 

had — it  appeared  more  than  possible — sailed  out  of  her 
life  altogether  into  the  unknown  haven  that  awaits  the 
souls  of  the  sailormen,  she  knew  how  she  longed  for  him. 
Still,  the  days  had  slipped  by,  and  there  was  no  word 
from  the  silent  north  which  has  been  for  many  a  sailor- 
man  and  sealer  the  fairway  to  the  tideless  sea. 

At  last  she  started  a  little  as  a  man  came  up  the 
drive  toward  the  house.  He  appeared  to  be  a  city  clerk, 
but,  though  Merril  had  not  yet  gone  out,  she  did  not 
recognize  him  as  one  of  those  in  her  father's  service. 
He  turned  when  he  saw  her  and  came  straight  across 
the  lawn,  and  Anthea  felt  a  thrill  run  through  her  as 
she  noticed  that  he  had  an  envelope  in  his  hand. 

"Miss  Merril?"  he  said.  "Mr.  Jordan  sent  this  with 
his  compliments." 

Anthea  thanked  him,  but  did  not  open  the  envelope 
until  he  turned  away.  Even  then  she  almost  felt  her 
courage  fail  as  she  tore  it  apart  and  took  out  a  strip 
of  paper  that  appeared  to  be  a  telegraphic  message 
addressed  to  Jordan. 

"Held  up  by  fog  and  got  ashore,  but  arrived  here 
undamaged.  Clearing  again  morning,"  it  read,  and 
the  blood  crept  into  her  face  as  she  saw  that  it  was 
signed,  "Wheelock  Shasta." 

For  the  next  five  minutes  she  sat  perfectly  still, 
conscious  only  of  a  great  relief,  and  then  she  roused  her- 
self with  an  effort  as  Merril  came  out  of  the  house. 

"A  telegram !"  he  said,  with  a  smile.  "Who  has  been 
wiring  you?  Have  you  been  speculating?" 

"In  that  case,  don't  you  think  I  should  have  come  to 
you  for  information?"  asked  Anthea,  who  was  mistress 
of  herself  again. 


278  THRICE    ARMED 

"I'm  not  sure  that  you  would  have  been  wise  if  you 
had,"  said  Merril,  with  a  whimsical  grimace.  "I  don't 
seem  to  have  been  very  successful  with  my  own  affairs 
of  late.  Anyway,  you  haven't  told  me  what  I  asked." 

Anthea  was  never  quite  sure  why  she  placed  the 
message  in  his  hand.  She  was  aware  that  he  was  not 
interested  in  the  subject,  and  would  certainly  not  have 
pressed  her  for  an  answer.  In  fact,  he  very  seldom 
inquired  as  to  what  she  did,  and  had  never  attempted  to 
place  any  restraint  upon  her.  He  glanced  at  the  mes- 
sage, and  then  turned  to  her  again. 

"Wheelock  to  Jordan.  Friends  of  yours?"  he  said. 
"You  would  probably  meet  them  at  Austerly's." 

"Yes,"  said  Anthea,  "I  think  I  may  say  they  are." 

It  was  essentially  characteristic  of  Merril  that  he 
showed  no  displeasure.  He  was  indulgent  to  his  daugh- 
ter, and  one  who  very  seldom  allowed  himself  to  be  led 
away  by  either  personal  liking  or  rancor.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  stood  still  looking  down  at  her  with  a  dry  smile, 
and,  because  no  father  and  daughter  can  be  wholly  dis- 
similar, Anthea  bore  his  scrutiny  with  perfect  com- 
posure. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "they're  both  men  of  some  ability, 
with  signs  of  grit  in  them,  though  I  don't  know  that  it 
would  have  troubled  me  if  I  had  heard  no  more  of  the 
Shasta.  Now  I'm  a  little  late,  and  it  will  be  to-night 
before  I'm  back  from  the  city." 

He  turned  away,  and  once  more  Anthea  became  sensi- 
ble of  a  faint  repulsion  for  her  father.  Every  word 
Eleanor  Wheelock  had  uttered  in  Forster's  ranch  had 
impressed  itself  on  her  memory,  and  she  knew  now  that 
his  interests  clashed  with  those  of  the  Shasta  Company. 


JORDAN  KEEPS  HIS  PROMISE       279 


It  tfould  not  have  astonished  her  if  he  had  shown  some 
sign  of  resentment,  but  this  complete  indifference  ap- 
peared unnatural,  and  troubled  her.  He  was,  it  seemed, 
as  devoid  of  anger  as  he  was,  if  Eleanor  Wheelock  and 
several  others  were  to  be  believed,  of  pity.  Then  she 
felt  that  she  must,  to  a  certain  extent,  at  least,  confide 
in  some  one,  and  she  set  out  to  call  on  Nellie  Austerly. 

It  happened  that  morning  that  Jimmy  stood  on  the 
Shasta's  bridge  as  she  steamed  up  the  softly  gleaming 
straits.  Ahead  a  dingy  smoke-cloud  was  moving  on 
toward  him,  and  he  took  his  glasses  from  the  box  when 
the  black  shape  of  a  steamer  grew  out  of  it.  She  rose 
rapidly  higher,  and  Jimmy  guessed  that  she  was  con- 
siderably larger  than  the  Shasta  and  steaming  three  or 
four  knots  faster.  Then  he  made  out  that  her  deck 
was  crowded  with  passengers,  and,  though  the  beaver 
ensign  floated  over  her  stern,  their  destination  was  evi- 
dent when  he  glanced  at  the  flag  at  the  fore.  The  only 
American  soil  north  of  them  was  Alaska. 

She  drew  abreast,  a  beautiful  vessel  of  old  and 
almost  obsolete  model,  with  the  clear  green  water  froth- 
ing high  beneath  her  outward  curve  of  prow.  Ther* 
was  no  forecastle  forward  to  break  the  sweeping  line  of 
rail,  and  the  broad  quarter-deck  that  overhung  her 
slender  stern  had  also  its  suggestiveness  to  a  seaman's 
eye.  The  smoke-cloud  at  her  funnel  further  hinted  that 
her  speed  was  purchased  by  a  consumption  of  coal  that 
would  have  been  considered  intolerable  in  a  modern  boat. 
Then  the  strip  of  bunting  at  her  mainmast  head  fixed 
Jimmy's  attention. 

"Merril's  hard  on  our  trail,"  he  said.  "She's  taking  a 
big  crowd  of  miners  north.  That's  his  flag." 


£80  THRICE    ARMED 

Fleming,  who  stood  beneath  the  bridge,  looked  up 
with  a  little  nod.  "I  would  not  compliment  him  on  his 
sense,"  he  said.  "A  beautiful  boat,  but  the  man  who 
runs  her  will  want  a  coal-mine  of  his  own.  Got  her 
cheap,  I  figure,  but  it's  only  at  top-freights  she  could 
make  a  living.  Guess  Merril's  screwing  all  he  can  out 
of  those  miners,  but  those  rates  won't  last  when  the 
C.P.R.  and  the  Americans  cut  in,  and  if  I  had  a  boat  of 
that  kind  I'd  put  up  a  big  insurance  and  then  scuttle 
her." 

Then  one  of  the  two  or  three  bronzed  prospectors 
who  had  come  down  with  the  Shasta  approached  the 
bridge. 

"Can't  you  let  the  boys  who  are  going  up  know  we've 
been  there?"  he  said.  "It  might  encourage  them  to 
see  that  somebody  has  come  out  alive." 

Jimmy  called  to  his  quartermaster  before  he  an- 
swered the  man.  "Well,"  he  said,  "in  a  general  way  the 
signal  wouldn't  quite  mean  that,  but  it's  very  likely 
they'll  understand  it." 

Merril's  boat  was  almost  alongside,  when  the  quarter- 
master broke  out  the  stars  and  stripes  at  the  Shastd's 
masthead.  A  roar  of  voices  greeted  the  snapping  flag, 
and  the  heads  grew  thick  as  cedar  twigs  in  the  shadowy 
bush  along  the  stranger's  rail ;  while  the  men  who  stood 
higher  aft  upon  her  ample  quarter-deck  flung  their  hats 
and  arms  aloft.  Jimmy  could  see  them  plainly,  and 
their  faces  and  garments  proclaimed  that  most  of  them 
were  from  the  cities.  There  were  others  whose  skin 
was  darkened  and  who  wore  older  clothes ;  but  these 
did  not  shout,  for  they  were  men  who  had  been  at  close 
grips  with  savage  nature  already,  and  had  some  notion 


of  what  was  before  them.  Jimmy  blew  his  whistle  and 
dipped  the  beaver  flag,  while  a  curious  little  thrill  ran 
through  him  as  the  sonorous  blast  hurled  his  greeting 
across  the  clear  green  water.  He  knew  what  these  men 
would  have  to  face  who  were  going  up,  the  vanguard 
of  a  great  army,  to  grapple  with  the  wilderness,  and  it 
was  clear  that  nature  would  prove  too  terrible  for  many 
of  them  who  would  never  drag  their  bones  out  of  it 
again. 

Once  more  the  voices  answered  him  with  a  storm  of 
hopeful  cries,  for  the  soft-handed  men  of  the  cities  had 
also  the  courage  of  their  breed.  It  was  the  careless, 
optimistic  courage  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  and  store-clerk 
and  hotel-lounger  cheered  the  Shasta  gaily  as,  reckless 
of  what  was  before  them,  they  went  by.  When  the  time 
came  to  face  screaming  blizzard  and  awful  cold  they 
would,  for  the  most  part,  do  it  willingly,  and  go  on 
unflinching  in  spite  of  flood  and  frost  until  they 
dropped  beside  the  trail.  Jimmy,  who  realized  this 
vaguely,  felt  the  thrill  again,  and  was  glad  that  he  had 
sped  them  on  their  way  with  a  message  of  good-will; 
but  there  was  no  roar  from  their  steamer's  whistle,  and 
the  beaver  flag  blew  out  undipped  at  her  stern.  Then, 
as  she  drew  away  from  him,  his  face  hardened,  and  the 
engineer  looked  at  him  with  a  grin. 

"Merril's  skipper's  like  him,  and  that's  'most  as  mean 
as  he  could  be,"  he  said. 

Jimmy  glanced  toward  his  masthead.  "If  there  were 
many  of  his  kind  among  my  countrymen,  I'd  feel 
tempted  to  shift  that  flag  aft,  and  keep  it  there,"  he 
said.  "The  boys  from  Puget  Sound  could  cheer." 

One  of  the  prospectors  who  stood  below  broke  into  a 


282  THRICE    ARMED 

little  soft  laugh.  "Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "it's  in  them,  and 
all  the  snow  up  yonder  won't  melt  it  out.  Still,  it's 
your  quiet  bushmen  and  ours  who'll  do  the  getting  there. 
Guess  they  could  raise  a  smile  for  you — and  they  did ; 
but  when  it  comes  to  shouting,  they  haven't  breath 
to  spare." 

He  turned  and  looked  after  the  steamer  growing 
smaller  to  the  northward  amidst  her  smoke-cloud.  "One 
in  every  twenty  may  bottom  on  paying  gold,  and  you 
might  figure  on  three  or  four  more  making  grub  and 
a  few  ounces  on  a  hired  man's  share.  The  snow  and 
the  river  will  get  the  rest." 

Then  he  strolled  away,  and  when  Jimmy  looked 
around  again  there  was  only  a  smoke-trail  on  the  water, 
for  the  steamer  had  sunk  beneath  the  verge  of  the  sea. 
His  attention  also  was  occupied  by  other  things  that 
concerned  him  more  than  the  steamer,  for  another  two 
or  three  hours  would  bring  him  to  Vancouver  Inlet, 
which  he  duly  reached  that  afternoon,  and  found  Jor- 
dan and  a  crowd  through  which  the  latter  could 
scarcely  struggle  awaiting  him  on  the  wharf.  Still,  he 
got  on  board,  and  poured  out  tumultuous  questions 
while  he  wrung  Jimmy's  hand,  and  it  was  twenty  min- 
utes at  least  before  Jimmy  had  supplied  him  with  the 
information  he  desired.  Then  he  sat  down  and  smiled. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "we'll  go  into  the  other  points  to- 
morrow, and  to-night  you're  coming  to  Austerly's  with 
me.  Got  word  from  Miss  Nellie  that  I  was  to  bring  you 
sure.  She  wanted  me  to  send  a  team  over  for  Eleanor." 

"Then  why  didn't  you  ?"  asked  Jimmy. 

Jordan's  manner  became  confidential.  "Nellie  Aus- 
terly  contrived  to  mention  that  Miss  Merril  would  be 


JORDAN  KEEPS  HIS  PROMISE       283 

there  too,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  Eleanor  mightn't 
quite  fit  in.  She  has  her  notions,  and  when  she  gets  her 
program  fixed  I  just  stand  clear  of  her  and  let  her  go 
ahead.  It's  generally  wiser.  Anyway,  I  felt  that  I 
could  afford  to  do  the  straight  thing  by  you  and 
Austerly." 

"Thanks!"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  dry  smile.  "Of 
course,  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  pretending  that 
Eleanor  is  fond  of  Miss  Merril." 

Jordan  sighed.  "Well,  I  guess  other  men's  sisters 
have  their  little  fancies  now  and  then,  and  though  she 
has  scared  me  once  or  twice,  Eleanor's  probably  not 
very  different  from  the  rest  of  them.  I  was  a  trifle 
played  out — driven  too  hard  and  anxious — while  you 
were  away,  and  she  was  awfully  good  to  me — gentle  as 
an  angel ;  but  for  all  that,  I  feel  one  couldn't  trust  her 
alone  with  Miss  Merril  on  a  dark  night  if  she  had  a 
sharp  hatpin  or  anything  of  that  kind.  And  as  for 
Merril,  I  believe  she  wouldn't  raise  any  objections  if  it 
were  in  our  power  to  have  him  skinned  alive.  Now,  I 
like  a  girl  with  grit  in  her." 

"Still,  Eleanor  goes  a  little  further  than  you  care 
about  at  times  ?" 

Jordan  laid  a  hand  on  his  companion's  arm. 
"Jimmy,"  he  said,  "there's  a  thing  you  haven't  men- 
tioned to  either  of  us — and  I  didn't  expect  you  to — but 
I  feel  that  by  and  by  your  sister  is  going  to  make 
trouble  for  you." 

Jimmy  looked  at  him  steadily,  and  Jordan  smiled. 
"You  needn't  trouble  about  making  any  disclaimer.  I 
see  how  it  is.  Somehow  you're  going  to  get  her.  Mer- 
ril's  not  likely  to  run  us  off.  I  guess  there's  no  reason 


284  THRICE    ARMED 

to  worry  about  him.  Still,  I  want  you  to  understand 
that  if  I  can't  put  a  check  on  your  sister — and  that's 
quite  likely — I'm  going  to  stand  by  her.  I  just  have 
to." 

"Of  course !"  said  Jimmy  gravely.  "Nobody  would 
expect  anything  else  from  you.  I  don't  mind  admitting 
that  I  have  been  a  little  anxious  about  what  Eleanor 
might  do — but  we'll  change  the  subject.  You  sug- 
gested that  Merril  was  getting  into  trouble?" 

"He  is,"  said  Jordan,  with  evident  relief.  "They're 
making  the  road  to  the  pulp-mill,  and  I  don't  quite 
know  where  he  raised  his  share  of  the  money,  especially 
as  he  has  just  taken  over  a  big  old-type  steamer.  Had 
to  face  a  high  figure,  played  out  as  she  is.  Ships  are  in 
demand.  Now,  there  are  men  like  Merril  whose  money 
isn't  their  own;  that  is,  they  can  get  it  from  other 
people  to  make  a  profit  on,  as  a  general  thing.  But 
these  aren't  ordinary  times ;  any  man  with  money  can 
make  good  interest  on  it  himself  just  now,  and  I've  more 
than  a  fancy  that  Merril's  handing  out  instead  of 
raking  in.  He  has  been  at  the  banks  lately,  and  when 
there's  a  demand  for  money  everywhere  you  can  figure 
what  they're  going  to  charge  him.  Anyway,  we  won't 
worry  about  him  in  the  meanwhile.  Get  on  your  shore- 
clothes.  As  soon  as  you're  ready  you're  coming  up- 
town with  me." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

AN   UNDERSTANDING 

JIMMY  went  to  Austerly's,  and  during  the  evening 
related  his  adventures  in  the  north  to  a  sympa- 
thetic audience.  His  companions  insisted  on 
this,  and  though  there  was  one  fact  he  would  rather  not 
have  mentioned  he  complied  good-humoredly  with  their 
request.  The  narrative  was  essentially  matter-of-fact, 
but  he  had  sufficient  sense  to  avoid  any  affectation  of 
undue  diffidence,  and  the  others  appeared  to  find  it  in- 
teresting. Indeed,  Nellie  Austerly,  at  least,  noticed  the 
faint  sparkle  which  now  and  then  crept  into  Anthea's 
eyes  as  he  told  them  how,  in  order  to  keep  his  promise 
to  the  miners  that  there  should  be  no  delay,  he  had  come 
out  of  a  snug  anchorage  and  groped  his  way  north- 
ward through  a  bewildering  smother  of  unlifting  fog. 
He  also  told  them  simply,  but,  though  he  was  not  aware 
of  the  latter  fact,  with  a  certain  dramatic  force,  how, 
straining  every  nerve  and  muscle  in  tense  suspense,  they 
hove  the  steamer  off  just  before  the  gale  broke,  and  of 
the  strenuous  labor  cutting  wood  for  fuel  on  the  south- 
ward voyage. 

When  he  stopped,  Nellie  Austerly  looked  up  with  a 
little  nod.  "Yes,"  she  said,  "you  took  those  miners  in 
as  you  had  promised,  in  spite  of  the  fog,  and  you 

285 


286  THRICE   ARMED 

brought  the  Shasta  down  all  that  way  with  only  a  few 
tons  of  coal.  Still,  I  don't  think  you  should  expect  any 
particular  commendation.  There  are  men  who  can't 
help  doing  things  of  that  kind." 

Jimmy  laughed,  though  his  face  grew  slightly  flushed. 
"I'm  afraid  I  also  put  her  ashore.  One  can't  get  over 
that."  Then  he  looked  at  Jordan.  "In  fact,  I  scarcely 
think  I'm  out  of  the  wood  yet.  There  will  be  an  in- 
quiry." 

"Purely  formal,"  said  his  comrade.  "They'll  have  a 
special  whitewash  brush  made  for  you.  Nautical  assess- 
ors have  some  conscience,  after  all.  Besides,  it  depends 
largely  on  the  facts  you  supply  them  whether  they 
consider  it  worth  while  to  have  one." 

Austerly  had  a  few  questions  to  ask,  and  then  the 
conversation  drifted  away  to  other  topics,  until  some 
little  time  later  Jimmy  found  himself  sitting  alone  be- 
side Nellie  Austerly.  She  lay  wrapped  in  fleecy  shawls 
in  a  big  chair  near  the  foot  of  the  veranda  stairway, 
looking  very  frail,  but  she  smiled  at  him  benevolently. 

"I  am  glad  they  have  gone,"  she  said.  "You  see,  I 
wanted  to  talk  to  you,  but  the  dew  is  commencing  to 
settle  and  I  must  go  in  soon.  That  is  insisted  on,  though 
I  don't  think  it  matters." 

She  smiled  again.  "It  is  a  beautiful  world,  Jimmy, 
isn't  it?" 

Jimmy  drew  in  his  breath  as  he  glanced  about  him, 
for  he  guessed  part  of  what  she  was  thinking,  and  it 
hurt  him.  He  could  see  the  dark  pines  towering  against 
the  wondrous  green  transparency  which  follows  hard 
upon  the  sunset  splendors  in  that  country.  The  Inlet 
shone  in  the  gaps  amid  that  stately  colonnade,  and  far 


AN  UNDERSTANDING  287 

off  beyond  it  there  was  a  faint  ethereal  gleam  of  snow. 
To  him,  filled  as  he  was  with  the  clean  vigor  of  the 
sea,  it  seemed  too  beautiful  a  world  to  leave. 

"Still,"  said  his  companion,  "it  has  had  very  little  to 
offer  me,  and  perhaps  that  is  why  I  feel  one  should 
never  stand  by  and  let  any  good  thing  it  holds  out  go ; 
that  is,  of  course,  when  one  has  the  strength  to  grasp 
it.  It  usually  needs  some  courage,  too." 

"I'm  afraid  it  does ;"  and  Jimmy  looked  down  at  her 
gravely,  for  since  this  was  not  quite  the  first  time  she 
had  suggested  the  same  thing  he  commenced  to  under- 
stand where  she  was  leading  him.  "One  might,  per- 
haps, manage  to  muster  enough  if  one  could  only  be 
sure " 

He  stopped  somewhat  awkwardly,  and  the  girl 
laughed.  "One  very  seldom  can.  You  have  to  reach 
out  boldly  and  clutch  before  the  opportunity  has  gone." 

"In  the  dark?" 

"Of  course!  One  can't  always  expect  to  see  one's 
way.  You  were  not  afraid  of  the  fog,  Jimmy?" 

"I  was.  It  got  hold  of  my  nerves  and  shook  all  the 
stiffening  out  of  me.  In  fact,  in  the  sense  you  mean, 
I'm  afraid  of  it  still." 

He  checked  himself  for  a  moment,  and  his  face  was 
furrowed  when  he  turned  to  her  again.  "You  under- 
stand, of  course.  The  clogging  smother  of  uncertainty 
jiow  and  then  gets  intolerable  when  a  man  wants  to  do 
the  right  thing.  He  can't  see  where  he  is  going.  There 
is  nothing  to  steer  by." 

"If  you  had  sat  down  and  tried  to  think  of  every  reef 
and  shoal,  and  what  would  become  of  the  Shasta  if  she 


288  THRICE    ARMED 

struck  them,  would  you  ever  have  reached  your  destina- 
tion when  the  fog  shut  down?" 

"No,"  said  Jimmy;  "I  should  in  all  probability  have 
turned  her  round,  and  steamed  south  again." 

Nellie  Austerly  laughed.  "Instead  of  that  you  went 
on — and  got  there — as  they  say  in  this  country.  That, 
as  I  think  you  will  recognize,  is  the  point  of  it  all." 

"I  also  got  ashore." 

"In  spite  of  the  lead.  It  wasn't  much  service,  Jimmy. 
It  really  seems  that  one  is  just  as  safe  when  going  full- 
speed  ahead.  Besides,  you  got  off  again,  and  brought 
the  Shasta  back  undamaged.  Well,  perhaps  it  may 
occur  to  you  by  and  by  that  there  must  always  be  a  little 
uncertainty,  and  in  the  meanwhile  I  dare  say  you  won't 
mind  giving  me  your  arm.  I  must  go  in,  and  these  steps 
seem  to  be  getting  steeper  lately." 

Jimmy  gravely  held  out  his  arm,  and  when  he  handed 
her  one  of  the  shawls  as  they  reached  the  veranda,  she 
smiled  at  him  again. 

"Now  you  are  released,  and  I  see  Anthea  is  all  alone," 
she  said. 

She  disappeared  into  the  house,  and  Jimmy's  heart 
beat  a  good  deal  faster  than  usual  when  he  went  down 
the  stairway.  Though  he  did  not  know  what  he  would 
say  to  her,  he  had  been  longing  all  evening  for  a  word 
or  two  with  Anthea,  and  now  the  desire  was  almost 
overwhelming.  He  had,  of  course,  seen  the  drift  of 
Nellie  Austerly's  observations,  and  it  scarcely  seemed 
likely  that  she  would  have  offered  him  the  veiled  en- 
couragement unless  she  had  had  some  ground  for  be- 
lieving that  it  was  warranted.  He  also  remembered 
what  he  had  twice  seen  in  Anthea's  face;  but  he  was  a 


AN  UNDERSTANDING  289 

steamboat  skipper  with  no  means  worth  mentioning, 
and  she  the  daughter  of  a  man  who  was  in  one  sense 
responsible  for  his  father's  death.  That  was  certainly 
not  her  fault,  but  Jimmy  felt  that  even  if  she  would 
listen  to  him,  of  which  he  was  far  from  certain,  he  could 
not  expose  her  to  her  father's  ill-will  and  the  scornful 
pity  of  her  friends.  Still,  Nellie  Austerly's  words  had 
had  their  effect,  and  he  strode  straight  across  the  lawn, 
with  the  same  curious  little  thrill  running  through  him 
of  which  he  had  been  sensible  when  he  drove  the  Shasta 
full-speed  into  the  fog. 

Anthea  stood  waiting  for  him  beneath  the  dark  firs, 
very  much  as  she  had  done  when  he  had  last  seen  her, 
with  a  smile  in  her  eyes. 

"I  suppose  it  is  Nellie's  fault,  but  I  was  commencing 
to  wonder  whether  you  wished  to  avoid  me,"  she  said. 

Jimmy  stood  silent  a  moment,  trying  to  impose  a  due 
restraint  upon  himself,  until  she  lifted  her  eyes  and 
looked  at  him.  Then  he  knew  the  attempt  was  useless, 
and  abandoned  it. 

"The  fault  was  not  exactly  mine,"  he  said,  with  a 
faint  hoarseness  in  his  voice.  "For  one  thing,  how 
could  I  know  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  see  me?" 

"Still,"  said  Anthea  quietly,  "I  really  think  you  did. 
Were  your  other  reasons  for  staying  away  more  con- 
vincing?" 

Then  Jimmy  flung  prudence  to  the  winds.  The  fog 
of  which  he  had  declared  himself  afraid  was  thicker  than 
ever,  but  that  fact  had  suddenly  ceased  to  trouble  him. 
Again  he  felt,  as  he  had  done  when  he  crouched  in  the 
Sorata's  cockpit  one  wild  morning,  that  he  and  Anthea 
Merril  were  merely  man  and  woman,  and  that  she  was 


390  THRICE    ARMED 

the  one  he  wanted  for  his  wife.  That  was  sufficient,  for 
the  time  being,  to  drive  out  every  other  consideration; 
but  he  answered  her  quietly. 

"A  little  while  ago  I  believed  they  were,  but  I  can't 
quite  think  that  now,"  he  said.  "Something  seems  to 
have  happened  in  the  meanwhile — and  they  don't  appear 
to  count." 

They  had  as  if  by  mutual  consent  turned  and  followed 
a  path  that  led  into  the  scented  shadow  of  the  firs,  but 
when  a  great  columnar  trunk  hid  them  from  the  house 
Jimmy  stopped  again. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "after  that  morning  when  we  watched 
the  big  combers  from  the  Sorata's  cockpit,  I  think  I 
should  have  known  you  were  glad  to  see  the  Shasta 
back;  but  the  trouble  was  that  I  dared  not  let  myself 
be  sure  of  it.  There  were,  as  you  said,  reasons  for  that. 
I  suppose  I  should  be  strong  enough  to  recognize  and 
yield  to  them  still,  but — while  you  may  blame  me 
afterward  for  not  doing  so — I  can't." 

He  moved  a  pace  forward,  and  laid  a  hand  on  her 
shoulder,  holding  her  back  from  him,  unresisting,  while 
he  looked  down  at  her.  "Since  I  carried  you  through 
the  creek  that  evening  up  in  the  bush  I  have  thought 
of  nothing,  longed  for  nothing,  but  you.  It  has  been 
one  long  effort  to  hold  the  folly  in  check;  but  it  has 
suddenly  grown  too  hard  for  me — I  can't  keep  it  up. 
Now,  at  least,  you  know." 

He  let  his  hand  drop  to  his  side,  and  stood  still  with 
his  eyes  fixed  on  her.  Anthea  looked  up  at  him  with  a 
smile. 

"Ah !"  she  said,  "I  knew  it  all  long  ago.  Was  it  very 
hard,  Jimmy — and  are  you  sure  it  was  necessary?" 


AN  UNDERSTANDING  291 

The  blood  surged  to  the  man's  forehead,  but  there  was 
trouble  as  well  as  exultation  in  his  face,  for  his  senses 
were  coming  back,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  must 
somehow  muster  wisdom  to  choose  for  both  of  them. 

"My  dear,"  he  said  a  trifle  hoarsely,  "I  think  it  was. 
I  am  a  struggling  steamboat  skipper,  and  you  a  lady  of 
station  in  this  Province.  That  was  a  sufficient  reason, 
as  things  go." 

"If  you  had  been  the  director  of  a  steamship  com- 
pany, and  I  a  girl  without  a  dollar,  would  that  have 
influenced  you?" 

"It  would  have  made  it  easier.  I  should  have  claimed 
you  on  board  the  Sorata.  Lord" — and  Jimmy  made  a 
little  forceful  gesture — "how  I  wish  you  were!" 

Anthea  smiled  at  him  curiously.  "Well,"  she  said, 
"I  may  not  have  very  much  money,  after  all — and,  if  I 
had,  is  there  any  reason  why  you  should  be  willing  to 
give  up  more  than  I  would?  Does  it  matter  so  very 
much  that  I  may,  perhaps,  be  a  little  richer  than  you 
are?" 

The  veins  showed  swollen  on  the  man's  forehead,  and 
again  he  struggled  with  the  impulses  that  had  carried 
him  away,  for  the  discrepancy  in  wealth  was,  after  all, 
only  a  minor  obstacle.  Anthea,  too,  clearly  realized 
that,  and  she  roused  herself  for  an  effort. 

"Jimmy,"  she  said,  while  he  stood  silent,  "would  it 
hurt  you  very  much  if  I  admitted  that  you  were  right, 
and  sent  you  away?  After  all,  you  have  scarcely  said 
anything  that  could  make  one  think  you  would  feel  it 
very  keenly." 

The  man  stooped  a  little,  and  seized  one  of  her  hands. 
"Dear,  you  are  all  I  want,  and  to  go  would  be  the  hard- 


292  THRICE    ARMED 

est  thing  I  ever  did ;  but  there  is  your  father's  opposi- 
tion to  consider,  and,  if  to  stay  would  bring  you  trouble, 
I  might  compel  myself." 

"Ah !"  said  Anthea  softly,  "the  trouble  would  come  if 
you  went  away." 

Then  with  a  little  resolute  movement  she  drew  her- 
self away  from  him,  and  looked  up  with  a  flush  in  her 
face  and  a  quickening  of  her  breath,  for  there  was  some- 
thing of  moment  to  be  said.  "There  is  a  reason  you 
haven't  mentioned  yet,  though  your  sister  did.  Does 
that  count  for  so  very  much  with  you?" 

"Eleanor !"  said  Jimmy,  while  a  thrill  of  anger  ran 
through  him.  "I  might  have  known  she  would  do  this." 

He  stood  quite  still  for  several  moments  with  a  hand 
clenched  at  his  side  and  his  face  furrowed,  and  when  he 
spoke  again  it  was  hoarsely. 

"What  did  she  tell  you?"  he  asked. 

"I  think  she  told  me  all  that  she  knew  about  your 
father's  ruin,  and  his  death.  It  was  very  hard  to  listen 
to,  Jimmy — but  did  it  really  happen  that  way  ?" 

She  stopped  a  moment,  and  cast  a  little  glance  of  ap- 
peal at  him.  "I  have  tried  to  think  that  she  must  have 
distorted  things.  It  would  have  been  no  more  than 
natural.  If  I  had  borne  what  she  has  I  would  have 
done  the  same.  One  could  not  regard  them  correctly. 
Bitterness  and  grief  must  influence  one's  point  of  view." 

The  man  turned  his  face  from  her,  and  moved  away  a 
pace  or  two  as  if  in  pain.  Then  once  more  he  turned 
toward  her  with  a  compassionate  gesture,  for  he  knew 
that  the  blow  would  be  a  heavy  one  to  her,  and  it  was 
almost  insufferable  that  his  hand  should  be  the  one  to 
deal  it. 


AN  UNDERSTANDING  293 

"Then  anything  I  could  say  would  not  be  more  re- 
liable. My  views  would  as  naturally  be  distorted  too." 

"Still,  I  should  have  an  answer.  You  must  realize 
that,  and  if  it  is  one  that  hurts  I  should  sooner  it  came 
from  you  than  anybody  else." 

Jimmy  drew  in  his  breath.  "Then,  while  I  don't 
know  exactly  what  Eleanor  has  said,  or  whether  I  can 
forgive  her  that  cruelty,  I  think  you  could  believe  every 
word  of  it." 

The  color  faded  from  Anthea's  face,  and  she  looked 
at  him  with  a  faint  horror  in  her  eyes  and  her  lips  tight 
set.  She  could  not  doubt  him.  If  there  had  been  no 
other  reason,  the  pity  she  saw  he  had  for  her  was  proof 
enough,  and  for  a  moment  or  two  she  forgot  everything 
but  the  grim  fact  to  which  Eleanor  Wheelock  had  forced 
her  to  listen.  She  could  make  no  excuses  for  her  father 
now. 

She  saw  him  suddenly  as  she  felt  that  he  was  a  crea- 
ture of  insatiable  greed,  cunning,  unscrupulous,  and 
without  pity,  and  then  she  commenced  to  feel  intoler- 
ably lonely.  It  was  almost  as  though  he  had  died,  and 
the  longing  for  the  love  of  the  man  who  stood  watching 
her  with  grave  sympathy  in  his  eyes  grew  so  strong  that 
for  the  moment  she  was  sensible  of  nothing  else.  There 
was  nobody  but  him  to  whom  she  could  turn.  It  was, 
she  felt,  his  part  to  comfort  her ;  and  then  she  shivered 
as  she  remembered  that  circumstances  had  placed  that 
out  of  the  question.  The  injury  her  father  had  done 
him  must,  it  seemed,  always  stand  between  them,  and  she 
shrank  back  a  pace  from  him. 

"Ah !"  she  said,  "you  must  hate  me  for  that,  Jimmy." 

It  was  half  an  assertion,  and,  though  she  had  perhaps 


294  THRICE    ARMED 

not  consciously  intended  the  latter,  half  a  question,  and 
the  man  recognized  the  dismay  in  it.  He  strode  for- 
ward, and  seizing  both  her  hands  laid  them  on  his  shoul- 
ders, and  drew  her  to  him  masterfully.  For  a  moment 
he  used  compulsion,  and  then  she  clung  to  him  quivering 
with  her  head  on  his  breast. 

"Dear,"  he  said,  "it  is  not  your  fault.  You  had  no 
part  in  it,  and,  even  had  it  been  so,  I  think  I  could 
not  have  helped  loving  you.  As  it  is,  there  is  nothing 
in  this  world  could  make  me  hate  you." 

Anthea  made  him  no  answer,  and  Jimmy  drew  her 
closer  still.  He  had  flung  prudence  and  restraint  away. 
What  he  had  said  and  done  was  irrevocable,  and  he  was 
glad  that  it  was  so.  At  last  the  girl  looked  up  at  him 
again. 

"Jimmy,"  she  said,  "if  you  can  thrust  into  the  back- 
ground all  that  Eleanor  told  me,  you  cannot  let  money 
come  between  us.  Besides,  I  haven't  any  now.  Could 
I  lavish  money  that  had  been  wrung  from  your  father 
and  other  struggling  men  upon  my  pleasures — or  dare 
to  bring  it  to  you?  Can't  you  understand,  dear  ?  lam 
as  poor  as  you  are." 

Then  she  suddenly  shook  herself  free  from  his  grasp, 
and  seemed  to  shiver.  "But  you  can't  forgive  him — it 
will  be  war  between  you?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy  slowly,  "I  am  afraid  that  must  be 
so.  If  there  were  no  other  reason,  I  cannot  desert  the 
men  who  befriended  me,  and  your  father  will  do  all 
he  can  to  crush  them." 

"Ah!"  said  the  girl,  "it  is  going  to  be  very  hard. 
Still,  I  cannot  turn  against  him ;  he  has,  at  least,  been 


AN  UNDERSTANDING  295 

kind  to  me.  I  have  never  had  a  wish  he  has  not  grati- 
fied." 

Jimmy  slowly  shook  his  head.  "No,"  he  said;  "that 
is  out  of  the  question — I  could  not  ask  it  of  you.  There 
is  also  this  to  recognize:  your  father  is  a  man  of  station, 
and  would  never  permit  you  to  marry  a  steamboat  skip-' 
per.  He  will  make  every  effort  to  keep  you  away  from 
me." 

Just  then  Austerly's  voice  reached  them  from  the 
house,  and  Anthea  turned  to  the  man  again.  "Jimmy," 
she  said,  "I  know  that  you  belong  to  me,  and  I  to  you ; 
but  that  must  be  sufficient  in  the  meanwhile.  We  can 
neither  of  us  be  a  traitor.  You  must  wait  and  say 
nothing,  dear." 

Then  she  turned  and,  slipping  by  him  swiftly,  moved 
across  the  lawn  toward  the  house,  while  Jimmy  stood 
where  he  was,  exultant,  but  realizing  that  the  struggle 
before  them  would  tax  all  the  courage  that  was  in  him 
and  the  girl. 

Before  he  left  the  house,  Nellie  Austerly  contrived  to 
draw  him  to  her  side  when  there  was  nobody  else  near 
the  chair  in  which  she  lay. 

"Well?"  she  said  inquiringly. 

Jimmy  looked  at  her  with  a  little  grave  smile.  "I 
have  rung  for  full-speed,"  he  said.  "Still,  the  fog  is 
thicker  than  ever,  and,  when  I  dare  to  listen,  I  can  hear 
breakers  on  the  bow." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

ELEANOR    HOLDS    THE    CLUE 

MRS.  FORSTER  had  gone  out  with  her  daugh- 
ters, and  there  was  just  then  nobody  else  in 
the  ranch,  when  Eleanor  Wheelock  and  Carn- 
forth  sat  talking  in  the  big  general  room.  This  was 
satisfactory  to  the  girl,  for  she  desired  to  have  the 
next  half-hour  free  from  interruption.  She  was  aware 
that  Mrs.  Forster  might  come  back  before  that  time  had 
elapsed ;  but,  although  she  had  a  purpose  to  accomplish, 
any  appearance  of  haste  would  spoil  everything,  for  it 
was,  as  she  recognized,  advisable  that  Carnforth  should 
be  permitted  to  take  her  into  his  confidence  in  his  own 
time  and  way,  without  her  doing  anything  to  suggest 
that  she  was  encouraging  him.  He  had  not  been  very 
long  in  Vancouver,  and  though  he  had  placed  a  good 
deal  of  money  in  MerriPs  hands,  and  was  associated  with 
him  in  some  of  his  business  ventures,  she  had  reasons  for 
believing  that  he  did  not  know  exactly  what  her  relations 
with  Jordan  were,  or  that  she  had  a  brother  in  command 
of  the  Shasta.  Carnforth,  as  it  happened,  had  also 
come  there  with  a  purpose  in  his  mind.  Indeed,  it  was 
one  he  had  been  considering  for  some  little  time,  though 
he  had  at  length  decided  that  it  would  have  to  be  modi- 
fied. This  did  not  exactly  please  him,  but  he  was  pre- 
pared to  make  a  sacrifice  in  case  of  necessity. 

296 


ELEANOR  HOLDS  THE  CLUE       297 

He  was  a  tall,  well-favored  man,  and  his  tight-fitting 
clothes  displayed  the  straightness  of  his  limbs  as  he 
leaned  back  in  his  chair,  with  his  eyes  which  had  a 
suggestive  sparkle  in  them  fixed  on  the  girl.  The 
fashion  in  which  he  regarded  her  would,  in  different 
circumstances,  have  aroused  Eleanor's  resentment,  but 
she  was  quite  aware  that  there  were  certain  defects  in 
his  character,  and  she  had  taken  some  trouble  to  dis- 
cover why  he  had  left  Toronto  somewhat  hastily.  She 
sat  in  a  canvas  chair  opposite  him  across  the  room,  and, 
since  she  had  expected  him  that  afternoon,  she  was  con- 
scious that  everything  she  wore  became  her  well. 

The  long,  light-tinted  skirt  was  no  fuller  than  was 
necessary,  but  Eleanor  could  afford  to  wear  it  so,  for 
both  in  man  and  woman  the  average  Western  figure  is 
modeled  in  long  sweeping  lines,  and  the  soft  fabric  em- 
phasized her  dainty  slenderness.  The  pale-blue  blouse 
that  hung  in  filmy,  lace-like  folds  heightened  the  color 
of  her  eyes  and  the  clear  pallor  of  her  ivory  complexion. 
Eleanor  was,  in  fact,  quite  satisfied  with  her  appearance, 
and  aware  that  it  suggested  a  Puritanical  simplicity, 
which  was  in  one  respect,  at  least,  not  altogether  mis- 
leading. There  is  a  certain  absence  of  grossness  in  the 
men  and  women  of  the  West,  and  even  their  vices  are 
characterized  rather  by  daring  than  by  materialistic 
sensuality.  She  felt  that  she  loathed  the  man  and  the 
part  circumstances  had  forced  on  her  while  she  dressed 
herself  in  expectation  of  his  visit ;  but,  for  all  that,  she 
was  prepared  to  undertake  it. 

"And  you  are  really  thinking  of  going  away?"  she 
asked. 

Carnforth  did  not  answer  hastily,  but  looked  at  her 


298  THRICE    ARMED 

with  the  little  sparkle  growing  plainer  in  his  eyes  while 
he  appeared  to  reflect ;  and,  though  there  was  nothing 
to  suggest  that  she  was  doing  so,  Eleanor  listened 
intently  as  she  marshaled  all  her  forces  for  the  task  she 
had  in  hand.  The  afternoon  was  hot  and  still,  and  she 
could  hear  Forster  and  his  hired  man  chopping  in  the 
bush.  The  thud  of  their  axes  came  faintly  out  of  the 
shadowy  woods,  but  there  was  no  other  sound,  and  the 
house  was  very  quiet.  This  was  reassuring,  for  she  had 
no  wish  to  hear  Mrs.  Forster's  footsteps  just  then.  At 
last  her  companion  spoke. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "I  have  been  thinking  over  it  for  some 
time.  In  fact,  I  should  have  gone  before,  only  I 
couldn't  quite  nerve  myself  to  it.  I  guess  I  needn't  tell 
you  why  I  found  that  difficult." 

Eleanor  laughed.  "Then  if  you  don't  wish  to,  why 
go  away  at  all?" 

"I  think  it  would  be  nicer  to  tell  you  why  I  wish  to 
stay." 

"Well,"  said  Eleanor  thoughtfully,  "I  almost  fancy 
you  have  suggested  your  reasons  once  or  twice  already. 
Still,  it's  evident  they  can't  have  very  much  weight  with 
you,  or  you  wouldn't  go." 

Carnforth  leaned  forward.  "Anyway,  my  reasons 
for  going  would  have  some  weight  with  most  men." 

"Then  until  I  hear  what  they  are,  you  are  on  your 
defense,"  said  Eleanor,  with  a  smile  that  set  his  blood 
tingling.  "In  the  meanwhile,  I  am  far  from  pleased 
with  you.  It  is  not  flattering  to  find  one  of  my  friends 
so  anxious  to  get  away  from  me." 

"That  was  by  no  means  what  I  was  contemplating," 
said  the  man,  and  there  were  signs  of  strain  in  his 


ELEANOR  HOLDS  THE  CLUE       299 

voice,  while  a  trace  of  darker  color  crept  into  his  face. 
"I  guess  you  know  it,  too." 

"Ah!"  said  Eleanor,  "why  should  you  expect  me  to? 
It  wouldn't  be  reasonable  in  the  circumstances.  I  was 
willing  to  allow  you  to  excuse  yourself  for  wishing  to 
go  away,  and  you  don't  seem  at  all  anxious  to  profit 
by  my  generosity." 

"You  mightn't  find  my  reasons — they're  rather  mate- 
rial ones — interesting." 

"Then  you  are  still  on  your  defense,  and  far  from 
being  forgiven.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  am  interested  in 
almost  everything,  as  you  ought  to  know  by  this  time." 

"I  believe  you  are,"  and  Carnforth  made  her  a  little 
inclination.  "I  guess  you  understand  almost  everything, 
too.  Well,  it  seems  I  have  to  tell  you." 

Eleanor  displayed  no  eagerness,  though  she  was 
sensible  of  a  little  thrill  of  satisfaction,  for  the  thing 
was  becoming  easier  than  she  had  expected.  Instead, 
she  moved  with  a  slow  gracefulness  in  her  low  chair,  so 
that  the  narrow  ray  of  sunlight  which  shone  in  between 
the  half -closed  shutters  fell  on  one  cheek  and  delicate 
ear.  She  knew  that  the  pose  she  had  fallen  into  was  one 
that  became  her  well,  and  would  in  all  probability  have 
its  effect  on  her  companion,  and  she  meant  to  make  the 
utmost  of  her  physical  attractiveness,  though  such  a 
course  was  foreign  to  her  nature.  Eleanor  Wheelock 
was  imperious,  and  it  pleased  her  to  command  instead 
of  allure;  but  she  could  on  due  occasion  hold  her  pride 
in  check,  and  she  would  not  have  disdained  to  use  any 
wile  just  then.  It  was  with  perfect  composure  that  she 
watched  the  little  glow  kindle  in  Carnforth's  eyes, 
though  she  could  have  struck  him  for  it. 


300  THRICE    ARMED 

"There  is  no  compulsion,"  she  said  indifferently.  "It 
rests  with  yourself." 

Carnforth  laughed  in  a  fashion  that  jarred  on  her. 
"The  fact  that  you  wish  it  goes  a  long  way  with  me. 
Well,  I  am  a  man  with  somewhat  luxurious  tastes,  which 
the  money  I  possess  would  unfortunately  not  continue 
to  gratify  unless  I  keep  it  earning  something.  That 
is  what  induced  me  to  take  a  share  in  one  or  two  of 
Merril's  ventures,  and  now  makes  it  advisable  for  me 
to  leave  him.  If  I  elect  to  remain,  I  must  put  more 
money  into  the  concern  than  I  consider  wise." 

"Then  Merril's  affairs  are  not  prospering?" 

"No,"  said  the  man,  with  a  keen  glance  at  her.  "I 
believe  you  are  as  aAvare  of  that  as  I  am.  One  way  or 
another  you  have  extracted  a  good  deal  of  information 
out  of  me — the  kind  in  which  women  aren't  generally 
interested.  I  don't  know  why  you  have  done  so." 

"I  think  I  told  you  that  I  am  interested  in  every- 
thing. You  don't  feel  warranted  in  handing  the  money 
over  to  Merril?" 

Carnforth  shook  his  head.  "The  pulp-mill  hit  us 
hard ;  but  before  he  quite  knew  that  we  would  have  to 
make  the  wagon-road,  he  had  bound  himself  to  take 
over  the  steamer  we  are  sending  up  with  the  miners," 
he  said.  "She  cost  him  a  good  deal." 

"Still,  freights  and  passage  to  the  north  are  high." 

"They  won't  continue  to  be  when  the  C.P.R.  and 
other  people  put  on  modern  and  economical  boats.  It 
is  quite  clear  to  me  that  Merril's  boat  can't  make  a 
living  when  she  has  to  run  against  them." 

Eleanor  decided  to  change  the  subject  for  a  while, 
though  she  had  not  done  with  it  yet.  "Well,"  she  said 


ELEANOR  HOLDS  THE  CLUE        301 

languidly,  "I  really  don't  think  it  matters  to  me  whether 
she  does  or  not.  What  I  gave  you  permission  to  do  was 
to  defend  yourself  for  wishing  to  go  away." 

"Haven't  I  done  it?"  asked  the  man.  "When  I 
break  with  Merril  I  shall  naturally  have  to  discover  a 
new  field  for  my  abilities.  I  think  it  will  be  in  Cali- 
fornia." 

"You  are  going  to  break  with  him  because  he  is 
saddled  with  an  unprofitable  vessel?  Now,  there  are 
tides,  and  fogs,  and  reefs  up  there  in  the  north;  don't 
they  sometimes  lose  a  well-insured  steamer?" 

Carnforth  laughed,  but  the  girl  had  seen  him  start. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "I  don't  mind  admitting  that  if  the  one 
in  question  went  north  some  day  and  didn't  come  back 
again,  it  would  be  a  relief  to  one  or  two  of  us.  Still, 
I'm  'most  afraid  that's  too  fortunate  a  thing  to  hap- 
pen." 

"Of  course !  There  would  always  be  a  probability  of 
the  skipper's  demanding  money  afterward?  Besides,  a 
mate  or  quartermaster  or  somebody  who  hadn't  a  hand 
in  it  might  have  his  suspicions." 

The  man  gazed  at  her,  and  this  time  his  astonishment 
at  her  perspicacity  was  very  evident  for  a  moment.  "A 
wise  man  wouldn't  tamper  with  the  skipper.  Anyway, 
the  people  who  try  to  get  their  money  back  by  means 
of  that  kind  'most  always  involve  themselves  in  diffi- 
culties." 

It  cost  Eleanor  an  effort  to  conceal  her  satisfaction. 
Little  by  little  she  had,  to  an  extent  her  companion  did 
not  realize,  extracted  from  him  information  that  enabled 
her  to  understand  the  state  of  Merril's  affairs  tolerably 
accurately,  and  she  had  decided  that  he  would  attempt 


302  THRICE    ARMED 

some  daring  and  drastic  remedy.  Now  her  purpose 
was  accomplished,  for  she  knew  what  that  remedy  would 
be,  and  it  only  remained  for  her  to  determine  whether 
Carnforth  could  be  used  as  a  weapon  against  his  as- 
sociate or  must  be  flung  aside.  The  latter  course  was 
the  one  she  would  prefer,  and  she  decided  on  it  since 
he  had  practically  answered  the  question. 

"So  you  are  going  to  leave  him  now  that  he  is  in 
difficulties?"  she  said  with  a  sardonic  smile.  "It  isn't 
very  generous,  but  I  suppose  it's  wise,  and  I  almost 
think  you  have  cleared  yourself.  Would  you  mind 
looking  whether  you  can  see  Mrs.  Forster?" 

He  had  served  his  purpose,  and  she  was  anxious  to 
get  rid  of  him ;  but  the  man  made  no  sign  of  moving. 

"I  would  mind  just  now,  and  I  hope  she'll  stay  away," 
he  said.  "The  fact  is  I  have  something  to  say  to  you, 
and  don't  know  why  I  let  you  switch  me  off  on  to 
Merril.  His  affairs  can't  concern  you." 

"Then  why  did  you  tell  me  so  much  about  them?" 

The  man  gazed  hard  at  her  in  evident  bewilderment, 
and  then  rose  to  his  feet  with  a  little  air  of  resolution. 
"I'm  not  to  be  driven  away  from  the  point  again.  I 
told  you  why  I  have  to  go,  but  that  is  less  than  half 
of  it.  I  can't  go  alone ;  I  want  you  to  come  with  me." 

"Ah !"  said  the  girl  very  quietly,  though  a  red  spot 
which  her  brother  and  Jordan  would  have  recognized 
as  a  warning  showed  in  each  cheek.  "This  is  unex- 
pected." 

Carnforth  crossed  the  room  and  leaned  on  a  table 
not  far  from  her  chair,  looking  down  at  her  with  a  look 
from  which  she  shrank. 


ELEANOR  HOLDS  THE  CLUE        303 

"No,"  he  said,  "I  don't  think  it's  unexpected;  you 
knew  what  I  meant  from  the  beginning." 

This  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  correct,  but  the  color 
grew  plainer  in  Eleanor's  cheek.  She  had  known  ex- 
actly what  her  companion's  advances  were  worth,  and 
at  times  it  had  cost  her  a  strenuous  effort  to  hold  her 
anger  in  check.  It  was,  however,  characteristic  of  her 
that  she  had  made  the  effort. 

"After  that,  I  think  it  would  save  both  of  us  trouble 
if  you  understood  once  for  all  that  I  will  not  go,"  she 
said. 

Carnforth  laughed  harshly,  while  his  face  flushed 
with  ill-suppressed  passion.  "Pshaw !  you  don't  mean  it. 
For  several  months  you  have  led  me  on,  and  now  that 
I'm  yours  altogether,  I'm  not  going  to  California  with- 
out you.  You  know  that,  too ;  you  have  to  go." 

"You  have  had  your  answer,"  and  Eleanor  rose  and 
faced  him  with  portentous  quietness.  "Don't  make 
me  say  anything  more." 

The  man  moved  forward  suddenly,  and  laid  a  hot 
grasp  on  her  wrist.  There  was  as  yet  no  dismay  in 
his  face,  and  it  was  very  evident  that  he  would  not  be- 
lieve her.  There  were  excuses  for  him,  and  the  fact 
that  it  was  so  roused  the  girl,  who  remembered  what 
her  part  had  been,  to  almost  uncontrollable  anger. 

"You  are  going  to  say  that  you  are  willing  and 
coming  with  me,  if  I  have  to  make  you,"  he  said  fiercely. 
"I  mean  just  that,  and  I  am  not  afraid  of  you,  though 
at  times  one  can  see  something  in  your  eyes  that  would 
scare  off  most  men.  It's  there  now,  but  it's  one  of  the 
things  that  make  me  want  you.  Eleanor,  put  an  end 


304  THRICE    ARMED 

to  this.  You  know  you  have  me  altogether — isn't  that 
enough?  Do  you  want  to  drive  me  mad?" 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  broke  into  a  harsh  laugh 
as  the  girl,  with  a  strength  he  had  not  looked  for,  shook 
off  his  grasp.  "Oh,"  he  said,  "it  seems  I've  gone  on 
too  fast.  I'll  fix  about  the  wedding  soon  as  I  break 
with  Merril." 

There  was  certainly  something  in  Eleanor  Wheelock's 
eyes  just  then  that  few  people  would  have  cared  to 
face.  The  vindictive  hatred  she  bore  Merril  had  for  the 
time  being  driven  every  womanly  attribute  out  of  her, 
but  she  remembered  how  she  had  loathed  this  man's  ad- 
vances and  endured  them.  To  carry  out  her  purpose 
she  would,  indeed,  have  stooped  to  anything,  for  her 
hatred  had  possessed  her  wholly  and  altogether.  Now 
it  was  momentarily  turned  on  her  companion. 

"It  would  have  been  wiser  if  you  had  made  that  clear 
first,"  she  said,  with  a  slow  incisiveness  that  made  the 
words  cut  like  the  lash  of  a  whip.  "Still,  I  suppose,  the 
offer  is  generous,  in  view  of  the  trouble  you  would  very 
probably  bring  on  yourself  by  attempting  to  carry  it 
out." 

The  man  appeared  staggered  for  a  moment,  but  he 
recovered  himself. 

"Well,"  he  said,  with  a  little  forceful  gesture,  "there 
are  parts  of  my  record  I  can't  boast  about,  but  there  are 
points  on  which  you'd  go  'way  beyond  me.  That,  I 
guess,  is  what  got  hold  of  me  and  won't  let  me  go. 
By  the  Lord,  Eleanor,  nothing  would  be  impossible  to 
you  and  me  if  we  pulled  together." 

"That  will  never  happen,"  said  the  girl,  still  with  a 


ELEANOR  HOLDS  THE  CLUE        305 

very  significant  quietness.  "Don't  force  me  to  speak 
too  plainly." 

Carnforth  appeared  bewildered,  for  at  last  he  was 
compelled  to  recognize  that  she  meant  what  she  said, 
but  there  was  anger  in  his  eyes. 

"Well,"  he  said  stupidly,  "what  in  the  name  of 
wonder  did  you  want?  You  know  you  led  me  on." 

"Perhaps  I  did.  Now  that  I  know  what  you  are,  I 
tell  you  to  go.  Had  you  been  any  other  man  I  might 
have  felt  some  slight  compunction,  or,  at  least,  a  little 
kindliness  toward  you.  As  it  is,  I  am  only  longing  to 
shake  off  the  contamination  you  have  brought  upon  me." 

She  broke  off  with  a  little  gesture  of  relief,  and  mov- 
ing toward  the  window  flung  the  shutters  back. 

"They  have  finished  chopping,  and  I  hear  the  ox- 
team  in  the  bush,"  she  said.  "Forster  will  be  here  in  a 
minute  or  two." 

Carnforth  stood  still,  irresolute,  though  his  face 
was  darkly  flushed ;  and  Eleanor  felt  the  silence  become 
oppressive  as  she  wondered  whether  the  rancher  would 
come  back  to  the  house  or  lead  his  team  on  into  the 
bush.  Then  the  trample  of  the  slowly  moving  oxen's 
feet  apparently  reached  her  companion,  for  with  a 
little  abrupt  movement  he  took  up  his  wide  hat  from 
the  table.  He  waited  a  few  moments,  however,  crum- 
pling the  brim  of  it  in  one  hand,  while  Eleanor  was  con- 
scious that  her  heart  was  beating  unpleasantly  fast  as 
she  watched  for  the  first  sign  of  Forster  or  his  hired 
man  among  the  dark  fir-trunks.  At  last  she  heard  her 
companion  move  toward  the  door,  and  when  it  swung 
to  behind  him  she  drew  in  her  breath  with  a  gasp  of 
relief. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

JORDAN'S  SCHEME 

CARNFORTH  had  been  gone  some  twenty  min- 
utes when  Eleanor  stood  among  the  orchard 
grass,  from  which  the  ranks  of  blackened  fir- 
stumps  rose  outside  the  ranch.  She  had  recovered  her 
composure,  and  was  looking  toward  the  dusty  road 
which  wound,  a  sinuous  white  ribbon,  between  the  som- 
ber firs.  Jordan,  whom  she  had  not  expected  to  see 
just  then,  was  walking  along  it  with  Forster,  and,  since 
it  was  evident  that  he  must  have  met  Carnforth,  she 
was  wondering,  with  a  somewhat  natural  shrinking  from 
doing  so,  how  far  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  him 
into  her  confidence.  This,  as  she  recognized,  must  be 
done  eventually ;  but  she  was  not  sure  that  her  legitimate 
lover  would  be  in  a  mood  to  understand  or  appreciate 
her  course  of  action  when  fresh  from  a  meeting  with 
the  one  she  had  discarded.  Jordan  had  laid  very  little 
restraint  upon  her,  but  he  was,  after  all,  human  and 
had  a  temper. 

She  lost  sight  of  the  two  men  for  a  few  minutes  when 
they  passed  behind  a  great  colonnade  of  fir-trunks  that 
partly  obscured  her  view  of  the  road,  but  she  could  see 
them  plainly  when  they  emerged  again  from  the  shadow. 
Instead  of  turning  toward  the  house  they  came  toward 

306 


JORDAN'S   SCHEME  307 

her,  and  there  was,  she  noticed,  a  curious  red  mark  on 
Jordan's  cheek,  as  well  as  a  broad  smear  of  dust  on  his 
soft  hat,  which  appeared  somewhat  crushed.  His  attire 
was  also  disordered,  and  his  face  was  darker  in  color 
than  usual.  Forster,  who  walked  a  pace  or  two  behind 
him,  because  the  path  through  the  grass  was  narrow, 
also  appeared  disturbed  in  mind,  and  when  they  stopped 
close  by  the  girl  it  was  he  who  spoke  first. 

"I  had  gone  down  the  road  to  see  whether  there  was 
any  sign  of  Mrs.  Forster  when  I  came  upon  Mr.  Jor- 
dan ^  and,  considering  how  he  was  engaged,  it  is  per- 
haps fortunate  that  I  did,"  he  said.  "Although  it  is 
not  exactly  my  business,  I  can't  help  fancying  that 
you  have  something  to  say  to  him." 

He  went  on,  but  he  had  said  enough  to  leave  Eleanor 
with  a  tolerably  accurate  notion  of  what  had  happened, 
and  to  make  it  clear  that  he  was  not  altogether  pleased. 
The  rancher  and  his  wife  were  easy-going,  kindly  peo- 
ple, with  liberal  views,  but  it  was  evident  that  their 
toleration  would  not  cover  everything.  Then  she  turned 
to  Jordan,  who  stood  looking  at  her  steadily  with  a 
certain  hardness  in  his  face,  and  the  red  mark  showing 
very  plainly  on  his  cheek. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "how  did  you  get  here?" 
"On  my  feet,"  said  Jordan.     "There  was  little  to  do 
this  afternoon  in  the  city,  and  two  or  three  things  were 
worrying  me.     It  struck  me  that  I'd  walk  it  off,  and 
I'm  glad  I  did." 

"Ah!"  said  Eleanor,  "won't  you  go  on  a  little?'" 
"It's  what  I  mean  to  do.     I  met  Carnforth  driving 
away  from  here,  and  since  the  fact  that  he  has  been 
here  quite  often  has  been  troubling  me  lately,  I  invited 


308  THRICE    ARMED 

him  to  pull  up  right  away.  When  he  didn't  do  it  I 
managed  to  get  hold  of  the  horses'  heads,  and  went 
right  across  the  road  with  them.  Still,  I  stopped  the 
team,  and  I  was  getting  up  to  talk  to  Carnforth  when 
Forster  came  along.  I  hated  to  see  him  then." 

Somewhat  to  his  astonishment,  Eleanor  laughed 
softly.  "Forster  persuaded  you  to  abandon  the — 
discussion?" 

"He  did.  If  there's  a  split  up  the  back  of  my  jacket, 
as  I  believe  there  is,  he  made  it.  Anyway,  he  wasn't 
quite  pleased,  and  I  don't  blame  him.  He  and  his  wife 
have  let  you  do  'most  whatever  you  like,  but,  after  all, 
you  couldn't  expect  them  to  put  up  with  everything." 

"Or  expect  too  much  from  you?  You  feel  you  have 
borne  a  good  deal,  Charley?  Well,  Forster  was  right 
in  one  respect.  We  have  something  to  say  to  each 
other,  and  it  may  take  a  little  time.  There  is  a  big 
fir  he  has  just  chopped  yonder." 

She  walked  slowly  toward  the  fallen  tree,  and  seated 
herself  on  a  great  branch  before  she  turned  to  the 
man  who  was  about  to  take  a  place  beside  her. 

"No,"  she  said,  "you  can  stand  there,  Charley,  where 
I  can  see  you.  To  commence  with,  how  much  confi- 
dence have  you  in  me?" 

"All  that  a  man  could  have ;"  and  there  was  no  doubt 
about  Jordan's  sincerity.  "Still,  I  don't  like  Carn- 
forth. He's  not  fit  for  you  to  talk  to,  and  I  can't  have 
him  coming  here.  In  fact,  I'll  see  that  he  doesn't.  I've 
wanted  to  say  this  for  quite  a  while,  but  it  would  have 
pleased  me  better  to  say  it  first  to  him.  That's  one 
reason  why  I  feel  it's  particularly  unfortunate  Forster 
didn't  stay  away  a  mimite  or  two  longer." 


JORDAN'S   SCHEME  309 

A  faint  tinge  of  color  crept  into  Eleanor's  cheek,  but 
she  looked  at  him  with  a  smile. 

"Charley,"  she  said,  "I  am  a  little  sorry  too  that 
Forster  came  along  when  he  did.  I  don't  know  that  it's 
what  every  girl  would  say,  but  I  think  if  you  had 
thrashed  that  man  to  within  an  inch  of  his  life  it  would 
have  pleased  me." 

She  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  the  color  grew  a 
trifle  plainer  in  her  face,  though  there  was  no  wavering 
in  her  gaze.  "I  want  you  to  understand  that  I  knew 
just  what  that  man  was — and  still  I  led  him  on.  It 
is  a  little  hard  to  speak  of;  but  one  has  to  be  honest, 
and  when  it  is  necessary  I  think  both  of  us  can  face  an 
unpleasant  thing.  Well,  I  encouraged  him  because  I 
couldn't  see  how  I  was  to  attain  my  object  any  other 
way.  Still,  you  mustn't  suppose  it  cost  me  nothing.  It 
hurt  all  the  time — hurt  me  horribly — and  now  I  almost 
feel  that  I  shall  never  shake  off  the  contamination." 

The  man,  who  did  not  know  yet  what  her  purpose  was, 
realized  that  the  task  she  had  undertaken  must  have 
heavily  taxed  her  strength  and  courage.  He  knew  that 
she  was  vindictive,  and  one  who  was  not  addicted  to 
counting  the  cost,  but  he  also  knew  that  there  was 
a  certain  Puritanical  pride  in  her  which  must  have 
rendered  the  part  she  had  played  almost  insufferably 
repulsive.  His  face  burned  as  he  thought  of  it,  and  he 
drew  in  his  breath  with  a  curious  little  gasp  while  he 
gazed  at  her  with  a  look  in  his  eyes  that  sent  a  thrill 
of  dismay  through  her. 

"Oh !"  she  said,  "don't  ask,  Charley.  I  couldn't  bear 
that  from  you.  I — I  kept  him  at  a  due  distance  all 
the  time." 


310  THRICE    ARMED 

Jordan's  tense  face  relaxed.  "I  can't  forgive  Forster 
for  coming  along  when  he  did,"  he  said.  "Eleanor, 
you  have  courage  enough  for  anything.  In  one  way, 
it  isn't  natural." 

"You  have  felt  that  now  and  then?" 

The  man  said  nothing  for  almost  a  minute,  for  he 
was  still  a  little  shaken  by  what  she  had  told  him.  It 
had  roused  him  to  fierce  resentment  and  brought  the 
blood  to  his  face,  but  he  now  recognized  that  there  were 
respects  in  which  the  momentary  dismay  of  which  he 
had  been  sensible  was  groundless.  She  had  given  him 
sympathy  and  encouragement  freely,  and  at  times  had 
shown  him  a  certain  half-reserved  tenderness,  but  very 
little  more,  and  he  felt  that  it  should  have  been  quite 
clear  to  him  that  she  had  unbent  no  further  toward  the 
stranger.  Then  he  straightened  himself  as  he  looked  at 
her. 

"My  dear,"  he  said,  "I  needn't  tell  you  there  is 
nobody  on  this  earth  I  would  place  beside  you." 

Eleanor  smiled  wistfully.  "Ah !"  she  said,  "I  like  to 
hear  you  say  that,  though  it  is,  of  course,  foolish  of 
you;  and  perhaps  I  shall  change  and  be  gentler  and 
more  like  other  women  some  day.  Still,  that  wouldn't 
be  advisable  just  now.  We  must  wait,  and  in  the  mean- 
while there  are  other  things  to  think  of.  Listen  for  a 
minute,  and  you  will  understand  why  I  led  Carnforth 
on.  He  is,  of  course,  never  coming  here  again." 

She  told  him  quietly  all  she  had  heard  respecting 
Merril's  affairs,  and  when  at  last  she  stopped,  Jordan 
made  an  abrupt  gesture. 

"It's  a  pity  I  can't  act  upon  what  you  have  told  me," 
he  said. 


JORDAN'S  SCHEME  311 

"You  can't  act  upon  it?" 

"No,"  said  Jordan  firmly.  "You  should  never  have 
done  it — it  cost  you  too  much.  Oh,  I  know  the  shame 
and  humiliation  it  must  have  brought  you.  You  can't 
make  things  like  these  counters  in  a  business  deal." 

"You  must ;"  and  Eleanor's  eyes  grew  suddenly  hard 
again.  "Is  all  I  have  gained  by  doing  what  I  loathed 
to  be  thrown  away?  Listen,  Charley.  I  loved  my 
father,  and  looked  up  to  him  until  Merril  laid  a  trap 
for  him.  Then  he  went  downhill,  and  I  had  to  watch 
his  courage  and  control  being  sapped  away.  He  lost 
it  all,  and  his  manhood,  too,  and  died  crazed  with  rank 
whisky." 

She  rose,  and  stood  very  straight,  pale  in  face  and 
quivering  a  little.  "Could  anything  ever  drive  out  the 
memory  of  that  horrible  night?  You  could  hardly  bear 
what  had  to  be  done,  and  you  can  fancy  what  it  must 
have  been  to  me — who  loved  him.  Can  I  forgive  the 
man  who  brought  that  on  him?" 

Jordan  shivered  a  little  with  pity  and  horror,  as  the 
scene  in  the  room  where  the  burned  man  gasped  out  his 
life  in  an  extremity  of  pain  rose  up  before  him.  Then 
he  was  conscious  that  Eleanor  had  recovered  herself 
and  was  looking  at  him  steadily. 

"Charley,"  she  said,  "you  must  stand  by  me  in  this,  or 
go  away  and  never  speak  to  me  again.  There  is  no 
alternative.  Only  support  me  now,  and  afterward  I 
will  obey  you  for  the  rest  of  our  lives." 

The  man  realized  that  she  meant  it,  and  though  it 
cost  him  an  effort,  he  made  a  sign  of  resignation. 

"Then,"  he  said,  "it  must  be  as  you  wish.     And  I 


312  THRICE    ARMED 

guess,  after  what  you  have  told  me,  we  hold  Merril  in 
our  hand.  That  is,  if  Jimmy  and  I  can  do  our  part." 

Both  of  them  had  felt  the  tension,  and  now  that  it 
had  slackened  they  said  nothing  for  several  minutes  as 
they  walked  toward  the  house.  Then  Eleanor  turned 
to  her  companion. 

"I  am  glad  I  can  depend  on  you,"  she  said.  "When 
the  pinch  comes  Jimmy  will  fail  us." 

"Jimmy,"  said  Jordan  quietly,  "is  your  brother  as 
well  as  my  friend." 

"Ah!"  said  Eleanor,  "don't  misunderstand.  Jimmy 
would  flinch  from  nothing  on  a  steamer's  bridge.  Still, 
it  isn't  nerve  of  that  kind  that  will  be  needed,  and  Miss 
Merril  has  a  hold  on  him." 

Jordan  saw  the  faint  sparkle  in  her  eyes.  "After  all, 
you  can't  hold  the  girl  responsible  for  her  father?" 

"I  do,"  said  Eleanor,  with  a  curious  bitter  smile.  "At 
least,  I  would  keep  her  away  from  Jimmy." 

Jordan  said  nothing,  but  there  was  trouble  in  his 
face,  for  he  had  seen  how  things  were  going,  and 
though  he  was  Eleanor's  lover  he  was  Jimmy's  friend. 
When  they  reached  the  ranch  they  found  that  Mrs. 
Forster  had  come  back,  and  she  glanced  at  Jordan  with 
a  smile  in  her  eyes  when  he  crossed  the  room. 

"Do  you  know  that  you  have  split  your  jacket  up  the 
back?"  she  asked. 

Jordan  looked  reproachfully  at  Forster.  "Well,"  he 
said,  "I  almost  think  that  your  husband  does." 

"Then  he  will  lend  you  another  one  while  I  sew  it 
for  you." 

"One  would  fancy  that  Eleanor  would  prefer  to  do 
it,"  said  the  rancher  dryly. 


JORDAN'S  SCHEME  313 

His  wife  pursed  up  her  face.  "It  is  possible  that  she 
may  bring  herself  to  do  such  things  by  and  by.  Still, 
I  can't  quite  imagine  Eleanor  quietly  sitting  down  and 
mending  a  man's  clothes." 

Jordan  laughed.  "It's  quite  likely  that  she'll  have 
to.  It  depends  on  how  the  Shasta  pleases  the  miners. 
Forster,  I'll  trouble  you  to  lend  me  a  jacket.  I  guess 
you  owe  it  to  me." 

Forster  promised  to  get  him  the  garment,  and  when 
they  went  away  together  his  wife  asked  Eleanor  a  plain 
question  or  two.  It  was  some  time  before  she  said 
anything  to  her  husband  about  that  interview,  but  she 
appeared  somewhat  thoughtful  until  supper  was 
brought  in.  Shortly  after  it  was  over  Jordan,  who  bor- 
rowed a  horse  from  Forster,  rode  away,  and  the 
rancher,  who  was  sitting  on  the  veranda,  smiled  at  his 
wife  when  Eleanor  walked  back  from  the  slip-rails  to- 
ward the  house. 

"Well,"  he  said  reflectively,  "though  I'm  rather  fond 
of  Miss  Wheelock,  I  can't  help  thinking  that  Jordan  is 
an  unusually  courageous  man.  It  is  fortunate  that  he 
is  so,  considering  everything." 

Mrs.  Forster  flashed  a  keen  glance  at  him,  but  it  said 
a  good  deal  for  her  capability  of  keeping  a  promise  that 
she  contented  herself  with  a  simple  question. 

"Why?"  she  asked. 

"He  expects  to  marry  her,"  said  Forster  dryly. 

In  the  meanwhile  Jordan  was  riding  down  the  dusty 
road,  and  thinking  out  a  scheme  which,  though  he  had 
been  reluctant  to  adopt  it  in  the  first  case,  was  now 
commencing  to  compel  his  attention.  As  the  result  of 
this,  he  spent  most  of  the  evening  in  certain  second-rate 


314  THRICE    ARMED 

saloons  where  sailormen  and  wharf -hands  congregated, 
which,  though  he  had  been  well  acquainted  with  such 
places  in  his  struggling  days,  was  a  thing  he  had  not 
done  for  several  years.  However,  he  came  across  one 
or  two  men  there  who,  while  they  were  probably  not 
aware  of  it,  gave  him  a  little  useful  information,  and  he 
had  a  project  in  his  mind  when  he  went  on  board  the 
Shasta  on  the  following  morning.  She  was  then -in  the 
hands  of  the  ship-carpenters,  for,  although  the  treasure- 
seekers  in  their  haste  to  reach  the  auriferous  north 
would  if  necessary  have  gone  in  a  canoe,  it  was  evident 
that  the  Shasta  Company  must  offer  them  at  least 
some  kind  of  shelter  in  view  of  the  opposition  of  larger 
vessels.  Jordan  also  knew  that  niggardliness  is  not 
always  profitable,  and  the  new  passenger  deck  that  was 
being  laid  along  the  beams  was  well  planned  and  com- 
fortable. He  drew  Jimmy  into  the  room  beneath  the^ 
bridge,  and  taking  out  his  cigar-case  laid  it  on  the  table. 

"Take  one.  We  have  got  to  talk,"  he  said.  "Now, 
the  Shasta's  out  after  money,  and  it  'most  seems  to  me 
that  Merril  is  going  to  have  an  opportunity  for  pro- 
viding some  of  it.  You  don't  know  any  reason  why 
you  shouldn't  get  what  he  screwed  out  of  your  father, 
and,  perhaps,  a  little  more,  out  of  him?" 

"No,"  said  Jimmy  grimly,  though  there  was  a  shadow 
on  his  face ;  "I  could  find  a  certain  pleasure  in  making 
him  feel  the  screw  in  turn." 

"Then  I'll  show  you  how  it  can  be  done.  But  first 
of  all  we'll  go  back  a  little.  Merril  has  had  to  make  the 
road  to  his  pulp-mill,  and  it's  costing  him  and  the  other 
men  a  lot  of  money.  His  particular  share  is  quite  a  big 
one.  Then  he's  saddled  with  an  old-type  steamer  that 


JORDAN'S  SCHEME  315 

can't  be  run  economically,  and,  as  you  know,  we'll  have 
to  come  down  in  freight  and  passage  rates  now  that 
the  other  people  are  putting  on  new  boats.  Besides, 
Carnforth,  who  was  to  take  a  big  share  in  the  concern, 
is  going  to  leave  him." 

"How  do  you  know  that?" 

Jordan  hesitated  for  a  moment.  "Well,"  he  said, 
"I  do,  and  that's  about  all  I  mean  to  tell  you.  Any- 
way, I've  cause  for  believing  that  Merril  is  tightly 
fixed  for  money,  and  can't  lay  his  hands  on  it.  There 
are  reasons  why  he  couldn't  let  up  on  the  pulp-mill  if 
he  wanted.  Still,  there  is  one  way  he  could  get  the 
money,  and  that  is  by  making  the  underwriters,  who 
hold  the  steamboat  covered,  provide  it." 

"Ah!"  said  Jimmy,  "it  wouldn't  be  very  difficult 
either." 

His  companion  smiled  dryly.  "I  have  a  notion  how 
she  is  insured,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  gather,  it's  under  an 
economical  policy.  Underwriters  face  total  constructive 
loss,  but  don't  stand  in  for  minor  damage  or  salvage. 
Well,  I've  ground  for  believing  the  thing  is  to  be  done 
by  the  engineer,  and  he  is  a  man  who  has  to  do  just 
what  Merril  tells  him.  You  and  Fleming  could  figure 
out  how  he  will  probably  manage.  But  one  thing  is 
clear :  when  that  steamboat's  engines  give  out  you  have 
got  to  be  somewhere  round  to  salve  her." 

"You  are  sure  of  this  ?"  asked  Jimmy.  "What  makes 
you  so?" 

Jordan  did  not  answer  him  for  a  moment,  and  once 
more  there  was  hesitation  in  his  manner. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "that  is  my  affair,  and  I've  been 


316  THRICE    ARMED 

worrying  over  it  quite  a  while  now.     Anyway,  I  think 
it's  a  sure  thing." 

"What  do  you  purpose  if  I  salve  that  steamer  and  we 
find  anything  wrong  on  board  her?" 

"In  that  case  I'm  not  sure  the  salvage  will  content 
the  Shasta  Company.  It's  admissible  to  break  your 
trading  opponent.  As  I  tried  to  show  you,  Merril's 
tightly  fixed,  and  while  the  man's  quite  clever  enough  to 
wriggle  loose,  it  will  be  our  business  to  see  that  he 
doesn't." 

Jimmy  sat  still  for  a  few  moments  with  trouble  in  his 
face,  which  was  hard  and  grim,  until  his  comrade  turned 
to  him  again. 

"Jimmy,"  he  said  quietly,  "that  man  had  no  pity  on 
your  father.  The  thing  has  to  be  done,  and  the  Shasta 
Company  stood  by  you.  We  have  got  to  have  that 
salvage,  and  you're  not  going  to  go  back  on  us  now." 

Jimmy  stood  up  and  straightened  himself  in  a  curious 
slow  fashion.  "No,"  he  said,  "I'm  with  you.  As  you 
say,  the  thing  has  to  be  done — and  it  naturally  falls  to 
me.  Well,  though  it'll  probably  cost  me  a  good  deal, 
I'm  ready.  When  do  you  expect  him  to  try  it?" 

"I  don't  quite  know — you  couldn't  expect  me  to. 
Still,  I  should  figure  it  won't  be  until  she  goes  north, 
after  the  lay-off,  in  spring.  Guess  he'll  hold  on  as  long 
as  he  can.  Freights  won't  drop  much  before  then." 

He  rose  and  laid  his  hand  on  his  comrade's  shoulder 
as  they  went  out.  "I  think  I  understand  how  you  are 
fixed,  but  you  have  to  face  it,"  he  went  on.  "There's 
another  thing  I  want  to  mention.  If  you  can,  get  hold 
of  Merril's  engineer,  and  scare  him  into  some  admis- 
sion." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

DISABLED    ENGINES 

SPRING  had  come,  and  all  down  the  wild  West 
Coast  the  tall  pines  had  shaken  off  their  load  of 
snow  and  the  rivers  were  thundering  in  their 
misty  canons,  but  there  was  very  little  sign  of  it 
at  sea  when  one  bitter  morning  a  cluster  of  deeply 
bronzed  men  hung  about  the  Adelaide's  engine-room 
skylights.  They  were  lean  and  somewhat  grim  of 
face,  as  well  as  ragged  and  suggestively  spare  of 
frame,  for  they  had  borne  all  that  man  may  bear  and 
live  through  during  the  winter  they  had  spent  in  the 
ice-bound  wilderness.  Now  they  were  going  back  to 
civilization  with  many  ounces  of  gold,  and  papers  re- 
lating to  auriferous  claims,  to  invoke  the  aid  of  capital 
before  they  once  more  turned  their  faces  toward  the 
frozen  north. 

It  was  noticeable  that  although  they  were  of  widely 
different  birth  and  upbringing  there  was  the  same  stamp 
which  revealed  itself  in  a  certain  quietness  of  manner 
and  steadiness  of  gaze  upon  them  all,  for  these  were 
the  pick  of  the  mining  community,  men  who  had  grap- 
pled with  the  wilderness  in  its  most  savage  moods  long 
before  they  blazed  a  new  trail  south  from  the  wilds  of 
the  Yukon.  They  had  proved  their  manhood  by  coming 

317 


318  THRICE    ARMED 

H 

back  at  all,  for  that  winter  the  unfit  had  died.  Still, 
though  they  had  endured  things  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  average  city  man,  they  were  glad  of  the 
shelter  of  the  tall  skylights,  because  the  Adelaide's  flush 
deck  was  swept  by  a  stinging  wind  and  little  showers 
of  bitter  spray  blew  all  over  it.  She  was  rolling  vicious- 
ly across  a  waste  of  gray-blue  sea  which  was  flecked 
by  livid  froth,  and  her  mastheads  swung  in  a  wide 
sweep  athwart  a  sky  of  curious  dingy  blue.  There  was 
no  warmth  anywhere  in  the  picture,  and  apparently  very 
little  light;  but  for  all  that,  every  sea  stood  out  from 
its  fellows,  and  those  back  in  the  clear  distance  were 
etched  upon  the  indented  horizon  with  harsh  distinct- 
ness. One  of  the  men  shook  his  head  as  he  gazed  at 
them. 

"They  look  like  the  pines  on  the  ridge  did  the  day 
the  blizzard  struck  us  down  on  the  Assiniboia  Creek," 
he  said.  "It  was  a  full-powered  one.  The  boys  who'd 
camped  ahead  of  us  were  frozen  stiff  by  morning.  The 
two  we  scraped  the  snow  off  were  sitting  there  like 
statues,  and  we  didn't  worry  'bout  the  others.  There 
was  ten  feet  over  them,  anyway.  I've  no  use  for  this 
kind  of  weather." 

One  of  his  companions  swept  his  glance  astern  toward 
the  smear  of  smoke  on  the  serrated  skyline,  which  was 
blotted  out  next  moment  when  the  Adelaide  swung  her 
stern  aloft. 

"If  you're  right  in  your  figuring,  I'm  glad  I  came 
along  in  this  boat,"  he  said.  "Anyway,  she's  bigger, 
though  I  'most  took  my  berth  in  the  Shasta.  Seems  to 
me  we're  quite  a  long  while  getting  away  from  her." 

The  others  agreed  with  him,  for  they  had  seen  that 


DISABLED   ENGINES  319 

smear  of  smoke  on  the  skyline  since  early  morning. 
Then  they  turned  to  watch  the  engineer,  who  came  out 
of  a  door  close  by,  and  glanced  up  to  weather,  blinking 
in  the  bitter  wind.  He  was  a  big  loosely-built  man  in 
dungarees,  with  the  pallid  face  of  one  accustomed  to 
the  half-light  and  heat  of  the  engine-room,  but  in  his 
case  it  was  also  unhealthily  puffy.  Then  he  slouched 
right  aft,  and  stood  still  again  looking  down  at  the 
dial  of  the  taffrail  log  which  records  the  distance  run, 
while  he  fumbled  in  a  curious  aimless  fashion  with  the 
blackened  rag  in  his  hand. 

"That,"  said  one  of  the  miners,  "is  a  man  I'm  no  way 
stuck  on.  Now,  you'll  most  times  find  hard  grit  in 
an  engineer,  but  this  one  kind  of  strikes  me  as  feeling 
that  there  was  something  after  him  he  was  scared  of." 

"Well,"  said  one  of  the  others  reflectively,  "it's  not 
an  uncommon  thing.  There  was  a  man  down  on  the 
flat  where  we  struck  it  who  had  a  kind  of  notion  that 
there  were  three  big  timber  wolves  on  his  trail.  Kept 
his  rifle  clean  with  the  magazine  ram  full  for  them,  but 
one  night  they  got  him.  A  sure  thing.  Tom  was 
there." 

The  man  at  whom  he  glanced  nodded.  "Now  and  then 
I  wish  I  hadn't  been,"  he  said.  "Lister  was  sitting  very 
sick  beside  his  fire  that  night.  Said  he  heard  those 
wolves  pattering  in  the  bush — there  were  thick  pines  all 
round  us — 'most  made  me  think  I  did." 

"Well?"  said  one  of  his  companions. 

The  miner  made  a  little  expressive  grimace.  "Long- 
est night  I  ever  put  in.  Sat  there  and  kept  them  off 
him.  Anyway,  I  tried,  but  he  was  dead  at  sun-up." 

None  of  the  others  showed  any  astonishment,  and  the 


320  THRICE    ARMED 

man  who  had  asked  the  question  glanced  back  toward 
the  engineer. 

"Guess  the  man  who  runs  this  steamboat  should  be 
getting  rich  by  the  way  they  strike  you  for  a  drink," 
he  said.  "I'm  bringing  down  'most  two  hundred  ounces, 
but  I  wouldn't  like  to  fill  that  engineer  up  at  the 
tariff." 

"Never  saw  him  making  a  traverse,  anyway.  He 
walks  quite  straight,"  said  a  comrade. 

"Well,"  said  the  other,  "I've  seen  his  eyes." 

Just  then  the  man  they  were  discussing  turned  toward 
the  bridge,  from  which  the  skipper  was  beckoning  him. 
A  minute  or  two  later  they  went  into  the  room  beneath 
it,  and  the  engineer  sat  down  looking  at  the  man  in 
front  of  him  with  narrow,  half-open  eyes.  The  latter 
was  young  and  spruce  in  trim  uniform,  a  man  of  no 
great  education,  who  had  a  favorable  opinion  of  him- 
self. 

"Can't  you  shove  her  along  a  little  faster,  Robert- 
son?" he  said.  "We'll  be  thirty  knots  behind  our  usual 
run  at  noon." 

"No,"  said  the  engineer,  in  a  curious  listless  drawl. 
"I've  been  letting  the  revolutions  down.  That  high- 
pressure  piston's  getting  on  my  nerves  again." 

"Shouldn't  have  thought  you  had  any  worth  speak- 
ing of,"  said  the  skipper,  with  a  quick  sign  of  impa- 
tience. "You  give  one  the  impression  that  they've  gone 
to  pieces  long  ago.  Take  a  drink,  and  tone  them  up." 

He  flung  a  bottle  on  the  table,  and  watched  his  com- 
panion's long  greasy  fingers  fumble  at  it  with  a  look 
'of  disgust.  Robertson  half -filled  his  glass  with  the 
yellow  spirit,  and  drained  it  with  slow  enjoyment.  Then 


DISABLED   ENGINES  321 

he  breathed  hard,  and,  leaning  his  elbows  on  the  table, 
looked  at  the  skipper  heavily. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "you  want  something?" 

"I  do,"  said  the  skipper,  and  taking  down  a  chart 
unrolled  one  part  of  it.  "I  want  to  shake  her  up  until 
we  get  away  from  the  Shasta,  for  one  thing.  Wheelock 
has  been  hanging  on  to  us  as  far  as  his  boat's  speed 
will  allow  it  the  last  two  or  three  runs.  I  can't  quite 
figure  what  he's  after." 

Robertson  looked  almost  startled  for  a  moment  as 
though  an  unpleasant  thought  had  occurred  to  him,  but 
his  heavy,  puffy  face  sank  into  its  usual  lethargicness 
jagain. 

"Wants  to  scoop  your  passengers.  Done  it  once  or 
twice,"  he  said.  "Well?" 

"For  another  thing,  I  want  to  get  round  this  nest  of 
islands  before  the  breeze  that's  brewing  comes  down 
on  us.  It  will  be  a  snorter.  If  I  were  surer  of  your — 
old  engines,  I'd  try  the  inside  passage,  though  the  tides 
run  strong.  Now,  if  I  head  her  up  well  clear  of  the 
islands  I'm  throwing  miles  away,  and  letting  the  Shasta 
in  ahead  of  me.  Wheelock  has  apparently  an  engineer 
who  will  stand  by  him." 

Again  a  curious  furtive  look  that  suggested  uneasi- 
ness crept  into  Robertson's  eyes. 

"He's  always  just  ahead  or  just  astern,  and  we've 
altered  our  sailing  bill  twice,"  he  said,  as  if  communing 
with  himself. 

"I  guess  you  dropped  on  the  reason.  Anyway,  if 
you  can  give  me  a  little  more  steam,  we'll  be  clear  of 
this  unhallowed  conglomeration  of  reefs  and  tides  by 


THRICE   ARMED 

this  time  to-morrow.  If  it's  necessary,  you  can  run  her 
easier  afterward." 

Robertson  laid  a  grimy  finger  on  the  chart.  "She'll 
be  feeling  the  indraught  now — it's  running  ebb,"  he 
said.  "If  I  can  read  the  weather,  you'll  soon  have  the 
breeze  strong  on  your  starboard  bow." 

The  skipper  flung  a  swift  glance  at  him,  in  which 
there  was  a  trace  of  astonishment.  "How'd  you  come 
to  know  just  where  she  is?" 

"Taffrail  log,"  said  Robertson.  "I  generally  run  a 
rough  reckoning  in  my  head.  Well,  you  want  another 
knot  or  two  out  of  her  until  you  have  the  big  bight  to 
lee  of  you?  See  what  I  can  do,  though  I'd  sooner  take 
a  knot  off  her.  That  high-press  piston's  worrying  me." 

He  jerked  himself  heavily  to  his  feet,  and  when  he 
shambled  out  of  the  room  the  skipper,  who  made  a  little 
gesture  of  relief,  took  up  his  dividers  and  laid  their 
points  on  the  chart.  One  of  them  rested  in  the  middle 
of  the  mark  left  by  the  engineer's  greasy  finger.  After 
that  he  rolled  the  chart  up  and  stowed  it  away  from  the 
others  in  a  drawer  beneath  his  berth,  and  the  look  of 
annoyance  in  his  face  had  its  significance.  He  did  not 
like  his  engineer,  and  although  he  had  no  particular 
reason  for  distrusting  him  he  remembered  that  when  the 
latter  had  found  it  necessary  to  stop  his  engines  at  sea, 
as  he  had  done  once  or  twice  during  the  last  trip  or 
two,  it  had  generally  been  in  the  last  spot  a  nervous 
skipper  would  have  desired.  Then  he  went  out,  and 
climbed  to  his  bridge. 

"You  can  head  her  out  two  points  more  to  westward," 
he  said  to  the  mate, 


DISABLED   ENGINES  323 

"Very  good !"  said  the  latter.  "Still,  we  decided  that 
the  course  she  was  on  would  keep  her  off  the  land." 

"We  did,"  said  the  skipper  dryly.  "Anyway,  you'll 
head  her  out.  We're  going  to  have  a  wicked  breeze 
from  the  west  before  this  time  to-night." 

In  the  meanwhile  the  second  engineer  was  leaning 
out  from  a  slippery  platform  that  swung  and  slanted  as 
the  Adelaide  lurched  over  the  long  gray  seas,  listening 
to  the  dull  pounding  of  the  high-pressure  engine.  His 
face  was  as  near  as  he  could  get  it  to  the  big  cylinder, 
and  after  glancing  at  a  little  glass  tube  he  looked  down 
at  a  man  with  a  tallow  swab  who  clung  to  the  iron  lad- 
der beneath  him. 

"I  don't  like  the  way  she's  slamming,  Jake,"  he  said. 
"There's  mighty  little  oil  going  into  her,  either.  Who's 
been  throttling  up  the  feed?" 

"The  chief,"  said  the  man  on  the  ladder.  "He  was 
slinging  it  red-hot  at  Charley  'bout  heaving  oil  away. 
Guess  I'd  have  fed  it  to  her  by  the  gallon  after  seeing 
that  new  piston-ring  sprung  on." 

The  second  pursed  up  his  face,  for  there  is  an  eti- 
quette in  these  affairs  at  sea  which  the  man,  who  had 
come  there  fresh  from  a  sawmill,  apparently  did  not 
understand.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I  guess  Mr.  Robertson 
bossed  the  putting  in  of  that  ring,  and  he  knows  his 
business.  Anyway,  if  he  tells  you  you  will  run  her 
dry." 

Then  a  big,  loosely-hung  figure  came  shambling  down 
the  ladder,  and  the  second  withdrew.  However,  he 
stood  among  the  columns  below,  and  watched  his 
superior  stop  and  glance  at  the  tube  through  which 
the  oil  flowed  before  he  went  about  his  work  again. 


THRICE    ARMED 

Robertson  was  apparently  satisfied,  and  after  slouch- 
ing round  the  engine-room  and  unscrewing  a  little 
further  the  throttle  valve  which  turns  steam  on  to  the 
engines,  he  crawled  back  to  his  greasy  room.  He 
sloughed  off  his  jacket  and  boots,  and  drawing  a  bottle 
from  beneath  the  mattress  of  his  bunk  poured  himself 
a  stiff  drink  of  whisky  before  he  stretched  himself  out. 

He  slept  soundly,  and  did  not  hear  the  roar  of  the 
engines  below  him  when  the  Adelaide  flung  her  stern 
out  and  the  lifted  screw  whirred  madly  in  the  air.  The 
thud  of  green  water  on  her  deck  passed  unheeded  too, 
though  the  second  heard  it  as  he  watched  the  maze  of 
clanking,  banging  steel,  until  the  young  third  relieved 
him.  The  latter  came  down  dripping,  and  shook  a  little 
shower  of  brine  off  him  when  he  stopped  beside  his 
superior. 

"It's  blowing  quite  fresh,  and  she  seems  to  be  plug- 
ging it  mighty  hard  since  you  shook  her  up,"  he  said. 
"The  chief  must  have  given  up  worrying  about  that 
piston,  or  he  wouldn't  have  had  you  take  the  extra 
knot  or  two  out  of  her." 

"Keep  your  eye  on  the — thing,"  said  the  second. 
"It's  going  to  make  us  trouble  yet.  If  I  were  boss  of 
this  job,  I'd  slow  her  down  right  now  instead  of  press- 
ing her." 

He  went  up  and  also  went  to  sleep,  and,  since  the 
telegraph  stood  at  full-speed  ahead,  the  young  third 
clung  to  a  greasy  rail,  all  eyes  and  ears,  with  one  hand 
on  the  gear  that  would  throttle  down  the  steam,  while 
the  rolling  grew  more  vicious  and  the  plunges  steeper. 
Quick  as  he  was,  there  was  a  thunderous  clamor  every 
now  and  then  as  the  big  compound  engines,  which  were 


DISABLED   ENGINES  325 

twice  the  size  of  those  of  a  modern  boat  of  equal  ton- 
nage, ran  away,  and  he  commenced  to  long  for  the  close 
of  his  watch  while  the  perspiration  dripped  from  him. 
He  had  not  been  very  long  at  sea,  and  there  is  a  respon- 
sibility upon  the  man  on  watch  when  the  whirring  screw 
swings  clear.  At  last  there  was  a  heavier  plunge  than 
usual,  and,  though  the  third  did  all  he  could,  the  big 
engines  span  and  clamored  furiously  as  the  stern  went 
up.  Then  there  was  a  harsh,  grinding  scream,  and  a 
crash.  After  that  came  sudden  stillness,  and  the  third 
frantically  span  the  wheel  that  cut  off  the  steam,  while 
grimy  men  went  sliding  and  floundering  over  the  slip- 
pery plates  and  platforms  toward  the  high-pressure 
engine. 

The  sudden  portentous  silence  and  the  roar  of  blown- 
off  steam  that  followed  it  roused  every  man  on  board 
the  ship,  and  Robertson  crawled  sluggishly  out  of  his 
berth.  He  had  reasons  for  knowing  exactly  what  had 
happened,  and  he  showed  no  sign  of  haste,  but  there 
was  a  furtive  look  in  his  eyes,  and  he  sat  on  the  ledge 
of  the  bunk  shivering  a  little  while  he  thrust  his  hand 
beneath  the  mattress  again.  He  felt  that  he  needed 
bracing,  for  he  had  once  spent  several  anxious  hours  in 
a  half -swamped  lifeboat  after  the  steamer  to  which  it 
belonged  had  gone  ashore,  and  he  was  aware  that  some- 
body is  usually  held  accountable  for  mishaps  at  sea. 
There  was  not  very  much  left  in  the  whisky-bottle  when 
he  thrust  it  out  of  sight  again,  and  shambled  out  of 
his  room.  The  Adelaide  was  rolling  viciously,  and  when 
he  reached  the  engine-room  he  came  near  falling  down 
the  slippery  ladder.  Indeed,  most  men  would  have  gone 
down  it  headlong  if  they  had  braced  themselves  as  he 


326  THRICE    ARMED 

had  done,  but  habitual  caution  made  him  feel  for  a  good 
hold,  and  he  descended  safely  to  where  his  subordinates 
were  clustered  beneath  the  high-pressure  cylinder. 
Their  faces  showed  tense  and  anxious  in  the  flickering 
light  of  the  lamps  which  swung  wildly  as  the  steamer 
rolled,  and  the  young  third  engineer  hastily  related  what 
had  brought  about  the  stoppage. 

"Rig  the  lifting  tackles  while  she  cools,"  said  Robert- 
son. "Get  the  stud-nuts  loose.  We'll  have  the  cover 
off  soon  as  we  can." 

Then  he  turned  and  saw,  as  he  had  partly  expected,  a 
quartermaster  standing  just  inside  the  door  above  him, 
and  with  a  word  or  two  to  his  second  he  crawled  back 
up  the  ladder  and  went  with  the  man  to  the  room  be- 
neath the  bridge.  The  young  skipper  who  stood  there 
with  a  furrowed  face  regarded  him  grimly. 

"How  long  are  you  going  to  be  before  you  start  her 
again?"  he  asked. 

Robertson  blinked  at  him  with  furtive,  half -open  eyes. 
"I  don't  quite  know — it's  a  heavy  job.  We  have  to 
heave  the  piston  up,"  he  said.  "Besides  that,  she  has 
knocked  things  loose  below." 

The  skipper  appeared  to  have  some  difficulty  in 
restraining  himself. 

"Unless  you  can  get  steam  on  her  in  the  next  few 
hours  she'll  be  breaking  up  by  morning.  The  reefs  to 
lee  of  us  are  not  the  kind  of  ones  I'd  like  to  put  a 
steamer  ashore  on,  either." 

Then  he  took  a  bottle  from  a  drawer  with  a  little 
grimace  of  disgust,  for  he  remembered  that  skippers  are 
comparatively  plentiful,  and  the  man  he  could  scarcely 


DISABLED   ENGINES  327 

keep  his  hands  off  was  for  some  reason  apparently  a 
favorite  with  his  employer. 

"Oh,  take  a  drink,  and  hump  yourself,"  he  said.  "I 
guess  that's  the  only  thing  to  put  a  move  on  you.'" 

Robertson  hesitated  for  a  moment,  for  he  realized 
that  he  had  still  a  part  to  play.  Then  it  occurred  to 
him  that  his  companion  might  draw  his  own  conclusions 
as  to  his  reasons  for  any  unusual  abstemiousness,  and 
he  helped  himself  liberally. 

"Well,"  he  said  when  he  had  drained  his  glass,  "I'll 
be  getting  back  again.  Do  what  I  can — but  it's  a 
heavy  job." 

He  shuffled  out,  but  his  potations  were  commencing 
to  have  their  effect,  and  when  he  reached  the  top  plat- 
form in  the  engine-room  he  felt  carefully  for  the  rail 
that  sloped  as  a  guide  to  the  ladder.  It  was  as  usual 
greasy  and  Robertson's  grip  not  particularly  sure, 
while  the  Adelaide  rolled  wickedly  to  lee  just  then.  As 
the  result  of  it,  her  engineer  went  down  the  ladder  much 
as  a  sack  of  coal  would  have  done,  and  fell  in  a  limp 
heap  on  the  floor-plates  with  a  red  gash  on  his  head. 
The  second  stooped  down  and  shook  him  before  he 
turned  to  the  other  men. 

"Heave  him  on  to  the  tool  locker,  one  or  two  of  you," 
he  said.  "We  can't  pack  him  up  to  his  room  with  this 
job  in  front  of  us.  See  if  you  can  fix  that  cut  for  him, 
Varney,  and  then  go  up  and  tell  the  skipper." 

A  man  went  up  the  ladder,  and  the  skipper,  who  sent 
an  urgent  message  back  with  him,  turned  to  the  little 
cluster  of  miners  who  were  waiting  about  his  room. 

"Something  wrong  with  the  engines?"  asked  one. 

"There  is,"  said  the  skipper,  who  knew  his  men  and 


328  THRICE    ARMED 

would  not  have  admitted  to  the  ordinary  run  of  pas- 
sengers what  he  did  to  them.  "It  will  probably  be  some 
hours  before  they  start  again,  and  the  shore's  not  very 
far  away  to  lee.  If  you  feel  inclined  to  lend  a  hand 
at  getting  sail  on  her  I  guess  it  would  be  advisable." 

The  miners  were  willing,  and  set  about  it  cheerfully, 
though  it  was  blowing  hard  now  and  the  long  deck 
heaved  and  slanted  under  them.  There  is  very  seldom 
an  unnecessary  man  on  board  a  steamer,  and  the 
Adelaide's  mate  was  glad  of  a  few  extra  strong  arms 
just  then.  That  they  were  drenched  with  bitter  spray 
and  occasionally  flung  against  winch  and  bulwarks  did 
not  greatly  trouble  them.  Things  of  that  kind  did  not 
count  after  facing  the  wild  turmoil  of  northern  rivers 
and  living  through  destroying  hazes  of  blizzard-driven 
snow.  So  they  got  the  canvas  on  her,  forestaysail,  gaff- 
headed  foresail,  mainstaysail,  and  a  blackened  three- 
cornered  strip  abaft  the  mainmast,  and  the  skipper 
felt  a  trifle  easier  when  he  found  that  he  could  steer  her. 
She  crawled  through  the  water  at  perhaps  two  knots 
an  hour,  dragging  her  idle  screw,  but  she  also  drove  to 
leeward  nearer  the  deadly  reefs. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

UNDER   COMPULSION 

IT  was  in  the  gray  of  the  morning  when  Jimmy  saw 
her,  a  dim  patch  of  hull  and  four  strips  of  sail 
that  heaved  and  dipped  between  the  seas.  He  also 
saw  the  faint  loom  of  land  behind  her,  and  turned  to 
Lindstrom,  who  stood  beside  him,  with  a  grim  smile. 

"I  think  we  can  make  our  own  terms  to-day,"  he 
said.  "She  wouldn't  be  there  with  those  reefs  to  lee  of 
her  if  her  engines  hadn't  broken  down.  Will  you  ask 
the  bos'n  to  have  a  board  ready  and  a  brushful  of  white 
lead?" 

Then  he  turned  to  the  man  in  oilskins  who  held  the 
steering  wheel.  "Hard  over.  Run  her  right  down  on 
them." 

The  Shasta's  bows  came  round,  and  the  light  was 
growing  clearer  when  she  lay  with  engines  stopped  as 
close  to  windward  of  the  Adelaide  as  Jimmy  dared 
venture.  The  latter  crawled  ahead  sluggishly,  heaving 
her  bows  up  streaming  out  of  the  long  seas  that  fell 
away  beneath  a  high  wall  of  slanted  iron  hull  until  the 
blackened  strips  of  sailcloth  swung  wildly  back  again. 
Then  her  tall  side  sank  down  until  the  line  of  rail  was 
level  with  the  brine.  A  couple  of  shapeless,  oilskinned 
figures  clung  to  her  slanted  bridge  with  the  spray  whirl- 

829 


330  THRICE    ARMED 

ing  about  them,  and  ragged  wisps  of  cloud  drove  fast 
across  the  low  and  dingy  sky  overhead. 

Jimmy  watched  her  with  eyes  half-closed  to  keep  the 
spray  out,  which  had  a  portentous  glint  in  them.  This 
was  a  moment  for  which  he  had  waited  long  months,  and 
now  his  turn  had  come.  If  Jordan  were  right — and  the 
fact  that  the  Adelaide  was  there  to  leeward  of  him  with 
engines  useless  certainly  suggested  it — he  had  only  to 
play  his  cards  well  and  deal  the  man  who  had  ruined  his 
father  a  crushing  blow.  He  set  his  lips  tight  as  he 
remembered  that  when  it  fell  the  man's  daughter  must 
bear  it  too,  for  he  was  bound  by  every  honorable  tie  to 
do  what  he  could  for  the  men  who  had  entrusted  him 
with  the  Shasta.  That  fact,  he  felt,  must  stand  first  with 
him ;  but  he  was  also  a  seaman,  and  could  not  stand  by 
while  a  costly  vessel  drove  ashore  as  the  result  of  an 
infamous  conspiracy.  While  he  waited,  grim-faced, 
with  his  wet  hand  clenched  on  the  telegraph,  a  string  of 
flags  fluttered  up  between  the  other  steamer's  masts, 
and  he  laughed  harshly  as  he  turned  to  Lindstrom,  who 
had  come  up  again  with  a  brush  and  a  strip  of  board. 

"That's  quite  plain  without  the  code,"  he  said. 
"Engines  given  out,  and  he's  open  for  a  tow.  Well, 
he  shall  have  it,  on  conditions.  Closer,  quartermaster. 
Lindstrom,  hold  the  board  for  me." 

He  painted  his  answer  neatly  in  big  bold  letters,  and 
when  he  had  pressed  down  his  telegraph  flung  up  an  arm 
for  a  sign  to  the  cluster  of  very  wet  men  below. 

"Look  at  this  thing,  and  remember  it,"  he  shouted. 
"Hold  it  up  before  you  hang  it  out,  Lindstrom." 

The  mate  did  as  he  was  bidden,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
men  made  a  sign  of  comprehension,  for,  as  all  on  board 


UNDER   COMPULSION  331 

share  in  salvage,  they  were  keenly  interested  too.  Then 
the  quartermaster  pulled  over  his  wheel,  and  the  Shasta 
crept  ahead  a  little  with  a  message  hung  outside  her 
bridge  rails. 

"Half  your  appraised  value,  or  the  court's  award." 

There  was  no  answer  for  several  minutes,  though  the 
flags  came  fluttering  down,  and  then  a  thing  happened 
that  apparently  strengthened  Jimmy's  hand,  which  was, 
as  he  alone  knew,  a  particularly  strong  one  already.  A 
white  streak  appeared  to  leeward,  perhaps  two  miles 
away  beneath  the  gray  loom  of  land,  and  it  was  evident 
that  the  Adelaide's  skipper  knew  it  was  the  filmy  spray 
flung  up  by  crumbling  breakers.  Two  or  three  colored 
strips  ran  up  between  her  masts  again,  and  the  hard 
smile  crept  back  into  Jimmy's  eyes. 

"Seems  to  fancy  he'll  get  off  easier  through  the 
court,"  he  said  to  Lindstrom.  "Well,  he's  wrong;  but 
the  first  thing  is  to  get  their  rope  on  board.  Strip  your 
lifeboat,  and  get  her  clear." 

Lindstrom  bustled  down  the  ladder,  and  a  handful 
of  drenched  men  set  about  getting  the  boat  out.  It  was 
not  an  easy  task,  for  there  were  times  when  the  Shasta 
rolled  her  rail  in,  and  the  boat  swung  in  upon  her  deck 
as  often  as  over  the  sea.  Then  she  drove  against  the 
streaming  plates  with  a  crash,  and  a  big  gray  comber 
that  swept  round  the  Shasta's  stern  half-filled  her  as 
they  lowered  her  with  a  run,  but  the  men  dropped  into 
her,  and  she  reeled  clear  with  the  oars  splashing  any  way 
on  the  back  of  the  next  one.  Jimmy  set  his  lips  as  he 
watched  her,  and  pressing  down  his  telegraph  sent  the 
Shasta  half-speed  ahead  in  a  big  sweep,  until  she  came 
up  steaming  dead  slow  once  more  under  the  Adelaide's 


332  THRICE    ARMED 

lee.  He  waited  there  ten  anxious  minutes  until  the  boat 
drove  down  on  him  bringing  a  line  with  her. 

Somehow  they  hove  her  in  not  greatly  damaged,  and 
the  rattling  winch  afterward  hauled  a  big  steel  hawser 
across ;  but  the  land  was  clearly  visible,  a  dark  streak 
of  rock  that  rose  above  a  haze  of  flying  spray,  when 
Jimmy  rang  for  full-speed  again.  He  knew  by  the 
chart  that  it  was  an  island  of  some  extent  with  a  wide 
sound  between  it  and  the  next  one  wliere  he  might  find 
shelter,  provided  he  could  hold  the  Adelaide  off  the  rocks 
that  long.  This,  however,  appeared  very  doubtful  in 
the  meanwhile,  for  it  was  evident  that  the  larger  vessel 
was  rapidly  dragging  him  to  leeward.  It  was  simply 
a  question  whether  she  would  drive  ashore  before  he 
towed  her  around  the  point  he  could  dimly  see  on  the 
contracted  horizon,  but  it  was  a  somewhat  momentous 
one.  If  he  failed,  the  sea  that  spouted  on  the  shoals 
would  make  short  work  of  her. 

It  became  evident  that  there  was  a  capable  helmsman 
at  the  Adelaide's  wheel,  for  she  crawled  along  well  in 
line  astern,  with  but  little  of  the  wild  sheering  from  the 
course  which  in  such  cases  is  apt  to  part  the  stoutest 
hawser;  but  Jimmy  grew  tensely  anxious  as  the  next 
hour  slipped  by.  The  beach  was  rapidly  growing 
plainer,  but  the  head  beyond  which  there  was  shelter 
was  still  apparently  a  long  way  off,  and  it  was  not  an 
inviting  prospect  that  unrolled  itself  to  lee.  The  gray 
rock,  smeared  by  the  whiteness  of  flung-up  spray, 
dropped  sharply  to  the  wide  line  of  tumbling  foam,  and 
above  it  low-flying  shreds  of  cloud  blurred  the  wisps  of 
climbing  trees.  Still,  the  head  was  rising  all  the  time, 
and  the  Shasta's  engines  pounding  steadily,  except  when 


UNDER   COMPULSION  333 

her  screw  shot  clear,  as  it  frequently  did.  Another  hour 
went  by,  and  the  tension  grew  worse  to  bear  when  a 
jagged  and  fissured  slope  of  rock  rose  under  their  lee- 
bow  scarcely  half  a  mile  away.  Beyond  it  stretched 
a  dim  vista  of  more  rock  and  reedy  pines  that  shut  in 
the  sound. 

"We  could  swing  her  in  if  there  were  no  tide,"  said 
Jimmy  harshly.  "As  it  is,  the  stream  is  setting  us  down 
on  the  point  together,  but  I'll  hold  on  until  she  strikes. 
There's  no  use  worrying  Fleming.  He  can't  do  any 
more." 

Lindstrom,  who  glanced  at  the  streak  of  flame  in  the 
dingy  cloud  that  blew  down  from  the  slanted  funnel, 
made  a  sign  of  concurrence,  and  Jimmy  gripped  the 
bridge  rails  hard  as  he  gazed  ahead.  He  could  see  the 
white  smear  of  tideway  that  streamed  around  the  head, 
and  the  gray  wall  of  rock  seemed  forging  back  toward 
him  through  the  midst  of  it.  The  sea  hurled  itself 
against  its  feet  and  crumbled  into  a  white  spouting  and 
streaky  wisps  of  foam  that  the  stream  swept  away. 
Then  he  signed  to  the  quartermaster,  and  gripping  the 
whistle-lanyard  flung  out  a  sonorous  blast  of  warning. 

The  Shasta's  bows  swung  seaward  a  little  further, 
and  both  vessels  swept  up  the  tideway  toward  the  deadly 
slope  of  stone.  It  crept  a  trifle  aft  from  the  lee-bow 
while  a  narrow  strip  of  water  opened  up  ahead,  and 
then  Jimmy  held  his  breath  as  the  Adelaide  took  a 
sheer.  She  swung  off  at  a  tangent,  rolling  until  a  great 
slanted  slope  of  rusty  iron  was  clear  on  that  side  of  her, 
while  the  Shasta's  poop  was  held  down  by  the  strain  on 
the  hawser.  A  sea  smote  her  on  the  weather  side  and 
veiled  her  in  a  cloud  of  flying  spray,  but  Jimmy  could 


334.  THRICE    ARMED 

dimly  see  a  man  flounder  aft  up  to  his  knees  in  water 
with  an  axe  on  his  shoulder.  It  was  not  the  instrument 
an  engineer  would  have  chosen  for  cutting  hard  steel 
wire,  but  the  axe  is  wonderfully  effective  in  the  hands 
of  a  Canadian,  and  the  strain  would  part  the  rope  if 
one  strand  were  nicked.  This  was  also  in  accordance 
with  Lindstrom's  instructions,  but  Jimmy  flung  up  a 
restraining  hand. 

"Hold  on!"  He  hurled  his  voice  through  hollowed 
hands.  "Drop  the — thing !  If  we  can't  swing  her  clear 
we're  going  ashore  with  her." 

He  forgot  what  he  owed  the  Shasta  Company  and 
what  Anthea  Merril  had  said  to  him,  for  the  primitive 
man  had  come  uppermost  under  the  stress  of  conflict. 
Twining  his  hands  in  the  whistle-lanyard,  he  hurled  out 
a  great  blast  that  the  rocks  flung  back  through  the  tur- 
moil of  the  tide,  and  then  once  more  gripped  the  bridge 
rails  hard,  standing  rigidly  still,  with  grim  wet  face 
and  a  light  in  his  eyes.  For  two  more  minutes  the  issue 
hung  in  the  balance,  and  then,  while  a  wider  gap  of 
water  opened  up  ahead,  the  Adelaide  swung  back  astern. 
In  a  few  moments  there  was  a  hoarse,  exultant  clamor 
from  both  vessels,  and  the  froth-swept  rock  slid  away 
behind  her.  In  front  lay  a  stretch  of  less  troubled 
water.  Half  an  hour  later  the  Shasta  came  around 
again  in  a  big  sweep,  and  when  the  anchors  went  down 
the  two  vessels  lay  rolling  uneasily  in  comparative 
shelter. 

Another  hour  had  passed  when  Jimmy  went  off  in  the 
lifeboat,  and  was  greeted  by  a  cluster  of  bronzed  men 
who  stood  about  the  Adelaide's  gangway  and  insisted 
on  shaking  hands  with  him.  Some  of  them  also  pounded 


UNDER   COMPULSION  335 

his  shoulders  with  hard  fists,  and  though  none  of  them 
expressed  themselves  very  artistically,  Jimmy  under- 
stood what  was  implied  by  the  offers  of  whisky  that  were 
thrust  upon  him.  The  genuine  prospector,  the  man 
who,  as  they  say  in  that  country,  gets  there  when  he 
takes  the  gold-trail,  is  as  a  matter  of  fact  usually  a 
somewhat  abstemious  person  and  particular  as  to  whom 
he  drinks  with ;  but  these  miners  had  made  the  Shasta* s 
commander  one  of  them  and  presented  him  with  the 
freedom  of  the  guild.  It  was  in  some  respects  as  great 
a  cause  for  gratification  as  if  he  had  been  made  com- 
panion of  an  ancient  order,  for  no  man  is  admitted  to 
that  one  who  cannot  prove  that  he  possesses,  among 
other  qualifications,  high  courage  and  stubborn  endur- 
ance. Their  codes  are  not  nicely  formulated  in  the 
frozen  wastes  and  the  silent  woods  of  the  north,  but  it 
is  as  a  rule  the  great  primitive  essentials  that  advance 
a  man  in  his  comrades'  estimation  there.  Jimmy,  how- 
ever, waved  the  miners  back. 

"It  ought  to  be  quite  clear,  boys,  that  I  can't  drink 
with  you  all,  especially  as  I've  business  with  the  skip- 
per," he  said.  "Anyway,  I'm  pleased  to  feel  I  have  your 
good-will." 

They  still  hovered  about  him  until  the  Adelaide's 
skipper  drew  him  into  his  room,  and  gravely  shook 
hands  with  him. 

"It's  not  often  boys  of  their  kind  make  a  fuss  over 
any  one,  but  in  this  case  the  thing's  quite  natural,"  he 
said.  "I  want  to  say  first  of  all  that  we're  much 
obliged." 

Then  he  emptied  the  contents  of  a  locker  on  the 
table,  and  they  included  a  cigar-case  and  a  couple  of 


336  THRICE    ARMED 

glasses,  which  he  filled.  "Well,  in  one  way,  you  made 
a  hard  bargain  with  us,  but  I'm  not  going  to  complain 
of  that.  It  was  made,  and,  though  I  felt  tolerably 
sure  we  were  both  going  up  on  the  head  yonder,  you 
carried  it  out.  We  owe  you  a  little  for  hanging  on  to 
us." 

Jimmy,  who  sat  down  and  took  a  cigar,  regarded  him 
thoughtfully.  The  man  was,  he  fancied,  opinionated 
and  somewhat  assertive ;  but  there  was  something  in  his 
manner  which  suggested  that  he  was  honest,  and  there- 
fore likely  to  resent  having  been  unwittingly  made 
Merril's  accomplice.  Jimmy  was  far  from  being  a 
genius,  but  like  a  good  many  other  quiet  men  whose 
conversation  contains  no  hint  of  brilliancy,  he  was  at 
least  as  far  from  being  a  fool. 

"How  did  you  come  to  be  where  you  were  when  we 
fell  in  with  you  ?"  he  asked. 

"That  is  very  much  the  same  thing  as  I  meant  to 
ask  you." 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy  dryly,  "I  can  account  for  it ;  but 
I'll  hear  what  happened  to  you  first." 

His  companion  told  him,  and  Jimmy,  who  watched 
him  closely,  made  up  his  mind  as  to  the  course  he  should 
adopt.  "Has  it  struck  you  that  your  engines  couldn't 
well  have  given  out  at  a  more  inconvenient  time?"  he 
asked. 

"It  naturally  has ;"  and  the  skipper's  disgust  and 
bitterness  against  his  engineer  were  stronger  than  his 
prudence.  "Still,  what  could  you  expect  with  a  whisky- 
tank  of  the  kind  I've  got  in  charge  below?  The  thing 
has  happened  before." 

"When  there  was  a  reef  or  a  shoal  close  to  lee?" 


UNDER   COMPULSION  337 

The  sudden  change  In  his  companion's  expression  had 
its  significance,  and  Jimmy  smiled  suggestively.  "Now 
you  were  a  little  astonished  to  see  me  turn  up  just  when 
I  was  wanted,  and  you  have  probably  noticed  that  I 
have  been  on  your  trail  lately?  Well,  supposing  we 
put  the  two  together,  what  do  you  make  of  it  ?" 

It  had  been  little  more  than  a  chance  shot,  for  Jimmy 
had  clearly  recognized  that  there  was  a  certain  proba- 
bility of  Merril's  skipper  having  acted  in  collusion  with 
him;  but  it  reached  its  mark.  His  companion's  face 
flushed  darkly,  and  he  laid  a  clenched  hand  on  the  table. 

"Now,"  he  said  sharply,  "you  have  got  to  talk  quite 
straight." 

"I  think  I  have  done  so.  Do  you  suppose  I  should 
have  lost  a  day  or  two  every  now  and  then  and  gone  to 
sea  before  I  was  quite  ready  to  keep  close  on  your 
track,  without  a  reason?" 

Jimmy's  last  uncertainty  vanished  as  he  watched  his 
companion,  and  he  saw  that  the  course  he  had  taken  was 
fully  warranted.  Merril,  it  was  evident,  had  considered 
it  safer  not  to  tamper  with  his  skipper,  perhaps  because 
he  shrank  from  giving  two  men  a  hold  on  him  when  the 
thing  could  be  done  by  one  who  was  in  all  probability 
to  some  extent  already  in  his  hands.  In  any  case,  the 
skipper's  face  was  hard  with  vindictiveness,  and  a  very 
unpleasant  look  crept  into  his  eyes.  He  was  young 
and  opinionated,  and  he  saw  the  pitfall  that  had  been 
dug  for  him. 

"I  guess  you're  right,"  he  said  hoarsely.  "It's  not 
the  first  time  my  engineer  has  tried  it.  He  and  the 
other — hog  would  have  broken  me." 

"It's  scarcely  likely  they  could  have  blamed — you — 


338  THRICE    ARMED 

at  the  inquiry.  In  fact,  I  fancy  Merril  would  have  liked 
you  held  clear.  It  would  have  made  the  thing  look 
straighter." 

The  skipper's  laugh  was  very  grim.  "It  wouldn't 
have  counted  if  they  hadn't.  One  thing  would  have 
been  certain — I  was  in  command,  and  that  would  have 
been  quite  enough  to  stop  my  getting  another  steamer. 
It's  always  somebody  else's  fault  when  you  get  a  boat 
ashore." 

Jimmy  knew  that  his  companion  had  reached  the 
point  to  which  he  had  been  leading  him.  "Well,"  he 
said  quietly,  "the  question  is,  what  do  you  purpose  to 
do  now?" 

"I  mean  to  get  even  with  the  man  who  meant  to  break 
me,  back  you  up  in  all  you  say  when  you  send  in  your 
salvage  claim,  and  in  the  meanwhile  wring  the  whole 
thing  out  of  that — whisky-tank  below." 

He  stopped  a  moment.  "First  of  all,  I  want  to  say 
I'm  sorry  I  went  by  that  day  without  answering  your 
whistle.  Merril  had  worked  me  up  against  you,  and 
since  I  get  a  bonus  on  results,  every  dollar's  worth  of 
freight  you  picked  up  was  so  much  out  of  my  pocket. 
Still,  you're  not  going  to  remember  that  against  me 
now.  We  both  earn  our  bread  at  sea,  and  you  have  to 
stand  by  me." 

Jimmy  nodded.  "I'm  willing,"  he  said.  "Hadn't 
you  better  send  for  your  engineer?" 

The  skipper  rose  and  opening  the  door  called  to  a 
man  outside.  "I  want  Mr.  Robertson  here,"  he  said. 
"If  he  isn't  willing  or  fit  to  come,  you  can  drag  him." 

The  engineer  arrived  on  his  own  feet,  and  stood  still, 
leaning  somewhat  heavily  on  the  table  with  one  hand, 


339 

when  the  skipper  closed  the  door  behind  him.  A  curious 
furtive  look  of  apprehension  crept  into  his  eyes  when  he 
heard  the  snap,  and  Jimmy  glanced  at  him  with  a  sense 
of  disgust.  There  was  a  dirty  bandage  around  his 
head,  and  his  face  showed  baggy  and  pallid  under  it, 
while  his  loosely-hung  figure  draped  in  greasy  serge 
seemed  disproportionately  large  and  clumsy  in  the  little 
trim  room.  There  was  also  something  in  his  attitude 
that  vaguely  suggested  the  viciousness  of  a  rat  in  a 
trap,  and  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been  drinking  hard 
of  late. 

"Well,"  he  asked  harshly,  "what  do  you  want?" 

The  Adelaide's  skipper  turned  to  Jimmy.  "This  is 
Captain  Wheelock  of  the  Shasta.  He  and  I  have  been 
comparing  notes,  and  the  game  you  have  been  playing 
is  quite  clear  to  me.  If  you're  wise  you'll  own  up  to  it 
before  we  go  any  further.  In  the  first  place,  what  were 
you  to  get  for  casting  this  ship  away?" 

The  man  showed  more  courage  than  Jimmy  had 
expected  from  his  appearance,  though  it  was  clearly  the 
courage  of  desperation.  He  braced  himself  stiffly,  and 
his  laugh  was  contemptuous.  "I  guess  you're  going 
to  be  sorry  for  this.  You've  said  it  before  a  third 
party." 

"I'll  say  it  before  a  magistrate  in  Vancouver,"  broke 
in  the  skipper ;  but  Jimmy  stopped  him  with  a  sign. 

"I  don't  think  what  you  asked  him  is  very  material," 
He  said  reflectively.  "In  any  case,  he  wouldn't  get  very 
much.  Mr.  Merril  is  not  the  man  to  hand  over  money 
when  it  isn't  necessary." 

He  watched  the  man  closely,  and  it  became  evident 
to  him  that  Jordan  had  been  warranted  in  the  con- 


340  THRICE    ARMED 

struction  he  had  put  on  certain  scraps  of  information 
picked  up  on  the  wharf  and  in  the  saloons  of  Van- 
couver. 

"I  don't  quite  understand,"  said  the  skipper. 

"I  think  Mr.  Robertson  does.  Of  course,  he  couldn't 
well  drop  his  name  without  invalidating  his  papers,  and 
after  all  it  was  probably  safe  to  keep  it,  since  there  are 
a  good  many  Robertsons,  and  everybody  would  expect 
him  to  change  it.  Still,  I  scarcely  fancy  he  is  aware 
that  there  are  two  men  in  Vancouver  who  would  swear 
to  him  with  pleasure.  They're  firing  sawmill  boilers." 

The  engineer's  jaw  dropped  and  there  was  craven 
fear  in  his  face,  but  he  seemed  to  pull  himself  together, 
though  Jimmy  noticed  his  glance  toward  the  door. 

"I  dare  say  you  can  recall  the  Oleander  case,"  he 
said.  "She  was  a  British  ship,  and  I  don't  know  how 
Mr.  Robertson  was  able  to  slip  out  of  Portland  quietly ; 
though  since  the  fireman  who  was  done  to  death  on 
board  her  belonged  to  that  city,  the  boys  along  the 
wharves  would  have  drowned  him  if  they  had  got  their 
hands  on  him." 

"Good  Lord !"  said  the  skipper,  with  a  little  gasp ; 
"the  man  was  slowly  roasted."  Then  he  swung  around 
toward  the  engineer.  "This  is  the — brute  who  did  it?" 

"If  you're  not  sure,  you  can  look  at  him." 

A  glance  was  sufficient,  and  the  skipper  had  no  time 
for  another.  Robertson  turned  swiftly  in  a  frenzy  of 
drink-begotten  rage  and  crazing  fear,  and  flung  open 
the  door.  Then  he  stooped,  and  before  they  quite 
realized  his  purpose  whipped  up  the  poker  from  the 
little  stove  and  struck  furiously  at  Jimmy's  head. 
Jimmy,  throwing  himself  backward,  flung  up  his  fore- 


UNDER   COMPULSION  341 

arm  and  broke  the  full  weight  of  the  blow ;  but  it  left 
him  dazed  and  sick  for  a  second  or  two,  and  before  the 
skipper  could  get  around  the  little  table  Robertson  had 
swung  out  of  the  door.  A  clamor  broke  out,  and  men 
ran  aft  along  the  deck  as  he  headed  for  the  rail;  but 
as  he  laid  his  hands  on  it  Jimmy  reeled  out  of  the  room 
beneath  the  bridge  with  the  blood  trickling  down  his 
face.  The  engineer  swung  himself  over,  and  Jimmy, 
who  shook  off  the  skipper's  grasp,  sped  aft  with  uneven 
strides  and  leaped  from  the  taffrail. 

The  cold  of  that  icy  water  steadied  him  when  he  came 
up  again,  and  he  saw  that  the  stream  of  tide  was  carry- 
ing the  other  man  down  toward  the  Shasta  and  strained 
every  muscle  to  come  up  with  him.  It  was,  however, 
five  or  six  minutes  before  he  did  it,  and  when  Robertson 
grappled  with  him  they  both  went  under.  Jimmy  waited, 
knowing  that  they  must  come  up  again,  and  when  that 
happened  there  was  a  splash  of  oars  close  by.  Then  he 
struck  with  all  his  strength  at  a  livid  face,  and  just  as 
he  felt  himself  being  drawn  down  once  more  an  oar 
grazed  his  head  and  a  hand  grabbed  his  shoulder. 

"Lay  hold  of  him !"  he  gasped,  and  the  boat  swayed 
down  level  with  the  water  while  he  and  Robertson  were 
dragged  on  board. 

"Keep  still !"  said  somebody,  who  struck  the  latter 
hard  with  the  pommel  of  an  oar. 

Then  Jimmy  scrambled  to  his  feet  with  the  water 
draining  from  him.  "Back  to  the  Adelaide,"  he  said, 
"as  fast  as  you  can." 

It  was,  however,  half  an  hour  later  when  Robertson 
was  once  more  thrust  into  the  skipper's  room,  and 
collapsed,  with  all  the  fight  gone  out  of  him,  on  a  settee. 


848  THRICE    ARMED 

He  seemed  to  have  fallen  to  pieces  physically,  but  it 
was  evident  that  his  mind  was  clear,  though  there  was 
now  only  abject  fear  in  his  eyes. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "what  do  you  want  from  me?" 

Jimmy  still  felt  a  trifle  dazed,  and  his  head  was  throb- 
bing painfully,  but  he  roused  himself  with  an  effort. 

"I'll  tell  you  in  a  minute ;  but  first  of  all  I  should  like 
you  to  realize  how  you  stand,"  he  said.  "The  Oleander 
is  a  British  ship,  Vancouver  is  a  Canadian  town,  and  if 
I  put  the  police  on  to  the  two  men  I  mentioned  they 
will  have  a  tolerably  clear  case  against  you.  You 
needn't  expect  anything  from  Merril;  he  will  certainly 
go  back  on  you." 

Robertson's  face  grew  vindictive.  "He  held  the  thing 
over  me,  but  we  never  meant  to  kill  the  man.  He  tried 
to  knife  one  of  us,  and,  anyway,  it  was  his  heart  that 
made  an  end  of  him.  We  didn't  know  until  afterward 
that  it  was  wrong.  But  go  on." 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy  dryly,  "I'm  not  going  to  make  a 
bargain  with  you,  but  at  the  same  time  I'm  not  quite 
sure  how  far  it's  my  duty  to  work  the  case  up  for  the 
police.  In  the  meanwhile,  I  want  a  plain  written  state- 
ment as  to  your  connection  with  Merril." 

The  man  made  a  sign  of  acquiescence,  though  there 
was  malice  in  his  eyes.  "I  can  get  even  with  him,  any- 
way, and  it's  a  sure  thing  he'd  have  sent  me  up  out  of 
the  way  if  he  could.  Get  me  some  paper." 

Jimmy  turned  to  the  skipper.  "Call  one  of  the 
prospectors.  We  want  an  outsider  to  hear  the  thing." 

A  miner  was  led  in,  and  Robertson,  who  had  been 
handed  pen  and  paper,  commenced  to  write.  The  skip- 
per read  aloud  what  he  had  written,  and  all  of  them 


UNDER   COMPULSION  343 

signed  it.  Then  Jimmy  put  the  document  into  his 
pocket,  and  two  seamen  led  the  engineer  to  his  room. 
Early  next  morning,  when  the  breeze  had  fallen,  a  stew- 
ard roused  the  skipper. 

"I  took  in  Mr.  Robertson's  coffee,  but  his  room  was 
empty,"  he  said. 

The  skipper  was  on  deck  in  a  few  minutes,  but  there 
was  nothing  to  show  what  had  become  of  the  engineer. 
The  Adelaide  had,  however,  now  swung  with  her  stern 
somewhat  near  the  shore,  and  a  man  who  had  kept 
anchor  watch  remembered  having  seen  a  big  Siwash 
canoe  slipping  out  to  sea  a  few  hours  earlier. 

"There  was  a  man  in  her  who  didn't  look  quite  like 
an  Indian,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  said  the  skipper  dryly,  "if  he's  drowned  it 
won't  matter.  Anyway,  I'm  not  going  to  worry." 


CHAPTER  XXX 

AN  EYE  FOR  AN  EYE 

f' 

THE  Shasta  lay  safely  tied  up  to  a  buoy  in  Van- 
couver Inlet,  and  a  quartermaster  stood  at  her 
gangway  with  instructions  to  see  that  no 
stranger  got  on  board,  when  Jimmy  sat  talking  to  his 
sister  and  Jordan  in  the  room  beneath  her  bridge.  It 
was  an  hour  since  she  had  steamed  in,  and  except  for  an 
occasional  clinking  in  her  engine-room,  where  Fleming 
was  still  busy,  there  was  silence  on  board  her,  though 
the  scream  of  saws  and  the  rattle  of  freight-car  wheels 
came  off  faintly  across  the  still  water.  The  two  ports 
were  open  wide,  but  none  of  those  who  sat  in  the  little 
room  noticed  that  the  light  was  fading.  Jordan  and 
Eleanor  were  listening  with  close  attention  while  Jimmy 
concisely  related  how  he  had  fallen  in  with  and  towed 
Merril's  steamer.  At  last  he  broke  off  with  an  abrupt 
movement  when  a  splash  of  oars  grew  louder. 

"Another  boat!"  he  said.  "We'll  have  every  curious 
loafer  in  the  city  pulling  off  by  and  by." 

Then  the  voice  of  the  quartermaster  reached  them  as 
he  answered  somebody  who  called  to  him  from  the 
approaching  boat. 

"No,"  he  said,  "you  can't  see  Captain  Wheelock — 
he's  busy.  Keep  her  off  that  ladder." 

844 


AN    EYE    FOR    AN    EYE  345 

There  was  evidently  another  question  asked,  and  the 
man  answered  impatiently :  "I  can't  tell  you  anything 
about  the  Adelaide  'cept  that  she's  coming  along  under 
easy  steam.  Should  be  here  in  a  day  or  two." 

Jordan  glanced  at  Jimmy.  "The  men  you  brought 
down  are  talking  already,  and  we  haven't  much  time 
for  fixing  our  program.  When  do  you  expect  her?" 

"I  don't  exactly  know.  We  came  away  before  she 
did  when  the  breeze  fell,  but  her  second  engineer  seemed 
quite  confident  he  could  bring  her  along  at  seven  or 
eight  knots.  He  wasn't  sure  whether  his  high-pressure 
engine  would  stand  anything  more." 

Then  it  was  significant  that  both  of  them  looked  at 
Eleanor,  who  had  insisted  on  coming  with  Jordan,  and 
who  was  apparently  waiting  to  take  her  part  in  the 
discussion.  One  could  have  fancied  from  their  faces 
that  they  would  have  preferred  to  be  alone  just  then 
and  were  a  trifle  uneasy  concerning  the  course  their 
companion  might  think  fit  to  pursue.  .  She  leaned 
back  in  her  chair  watching  them,  with  a  little  hard 
smile  which  seemed  to  suggest  that  she  knew  what  they 
were  thinking.  Still,  she  said  nothing,  and  Jordan 
spoke  again. 

"You  are  sure  of  the  Adelaide's  skipper  and  that 
miner  fellow?"  he  asked.  "They  wouldn't  go  back  on 
you  if  Merril  tried  to  buy  them  off?" 

"I  think  I  can  be  sure  of  them,"  said  Jimmy  re- 
flectively. "The  skipper  is  not  the  kind  of  man  I  would 
take  to,  but,  in  some  respects,  at  least,  he's  straight ; 
and,  anyway,  he's  bitter  enough  against  Merril  to 
back  us  in  anything  we  may  decide  to  do.  You  see,  the 
man  who  gets  his  boat  ashore  is  practically  done  for 


346  THRICE    ARMED 

nowadays,  wnether  it's  his  own  fault  or  not ;  and  I  fancy 
we  can  count  on  the  miner,  too.  After  what  those 
fellows  had  to  go  through  to  get  the  gold  they  were 
bringing  home,  they're  not  likely  to  have  much  sym- 
pathy with  Merril.  In  fact,  if  the  others  understood 
how  near  they  came  to  seeing  it  go  down  in  the  Ade- 
laide, it  would  be  a  little  difficult  to  keep  them  from 
laying  hands  on  him.  In  any  case,  there's  the  engi- 
neer's statement — one  can't  get  over  that." 

Eleanor  stretched  out  her -hand  for  the  paper,  and 
there  was  a  vindictive  sparkle  in  her  eyes  as  she  glanced 
at  it. 

"Charley,"  she  said  with  portentous  quietness,  "it 
seems  to  me  that  the  possession  of  this  document  places 
Merril  absolutely  in  your  hands.  You  are  not  afraid  to 
make  the  utmost  use  of  it?" 

Jordan  glanced  at  Jimmy  in  a  fashion  the  latter 
understood.  There  was  something  deprecatory  in  it, 
and  it  appeared  to  suggest  that  he  wished  his  comrade 
to  realize,  that  he  was  under  compulsion  and  could  not 
help  himself.  Then  he  turned  to  the  girl  with  a  cer- 
tain air  of  resolution. 

"No,"  he  said,  "I  don't  think  I  am  afraid,  but  I  want 
you  to  understand  that  I  am  manager  of  the  Shasta 
Company,  and  have  first  of  all  to  consider  the  interests 
of  my  associates,  the  men  who  put  their  money  into  the 
concern.  There  is  Jimmy,  too." 

"Jimmy !"  and  Eleanor  laughed  a  little,  bitter  laugh, 
which  had  a  trace  of  contempt  in  it.  "Pshaw !  Jimmy's 
love  affairs  don't  count  now.  I  think  he  feels  that,  too. 
After  all,  there  is  a  trace  of  our  mother's  temper  in 
him  if  one  can  awaken  it." 


AN    EYE    FOR   AN    EYE  347 

She  turned  and  looked  at  her  brother,  who  closed  one 
hand  tightly.  "Oh,  I  know;  the  girl  has  graciously 
condescended  to  smile  on  you,  and  no  doubt  you  are 
almost  astonished,  as  well  as  grateful,  that  she  should 
go  so  far.  Still,  where  did  the  money  that  made  her  a 
dainty  lady  of  station  come  from?  Must  I  tell  you 
that  a  second  time,  Jimmy?" 

She  stopped  a  moment,  and  gripped  the  paper  hard 
in  firm  white  fingers.  "This  is  mine.  I  bought  it. 
You  know  what  it  cost  me,  Charley;  and  what  has 
Jimmy  done  in  comparison  with  that?  Do  you  think 
anything  would  induce  me  to  spare  Merril  now  that  I 
have  this  in  my  hands?" 

Jimmy  looked  up  sharply,  and  saw  the  flush  of  color 
in  her  cheek,  and  that  the  blood  had  crept  into  his 
comrade's  face.  His  own  grew  suddenly  hot. 

"Ah !"  he  said,  with  a  thrill  of  anger  in  his  voice,  "I 
begin  to  understand.  She  got  the  information  you 
acted  on  out  of  that  brute,  Carnforth.  You  knew  that, 
Charley,  and  you — you  countenanced  it." 

He  half  rose  from  his  seat  with  a  brown  hand 
stretched  out  as  if  to  tear  the  paper  from  the  girl,  but 
while  Jordan  swung  around  toward  him  Eleanor 
laughed. 

"Sit  down,"  she  said  imperiously,  "you  simple-minded 
fool!  Do  you  think  I  would  let  Charley's  opinion  in- 
fluence me  in  an  affair  of  this  kind?" 

Jordan  made  a  gesture  of  resignation.  "She  would 
not,"  he  said.  "That's  the  simple  fact.  But  go  on, 
Eleanor — or  shall  I  tell  him?  Anyway,  it  must  be 
done." 

The  girl  silenced  him,  and  though  the  next  two  or 


348  THRICE    ARMED 

three  minutes  were,  perhaps,  as  unpleasant  as  any 
Jimmy  had  ever  spent  in  his  life,  it  was  with  a  certain 
deep  relief  that  he  heard  his  sister  out.  Before  she 
stopped  she  held  up  a  white  hand. 

"Once,"  she  said,  "once  only,  he  held  my  wrist.  That 
was  all,  Jimmy ;  but  I  feel  it  left  a  mark.  If  it  could  be 
removed  that  way,  I  would  burn  it  out.  Now  you 
know  what  the  thing  cost  me — but  I  did  it." 

The  men  would  not  look  at  each  other,  and  if 
Eleanor  had  left  them  then  it  would  have  been  a  relief 
to  both.  Her  suppressed  passion  had  stirred  and  shaken 
them,  and  they  realized  that  the  efforts  they  had  made 
were,  after  all,  not  to  be  counted  in  comparison  with 
what  the  girl  had  done. 

It  was  Jordan  who  spoke  first.  "Well,"  he  said,  with 
the  air  of  one  anxious  to  get  away  from  a  painful  sub- 
ject, "we  have  got  to  be  practical.  The  question  is, 
how  are  we  to  strike  Merril?  Seems  to  me,  in  the  first 
case,  we'll  hand  him  a  salvage  claim.  I'll  fix  it  at  half 
her  value,  anyway,  and  he'll  never  fight  us  when  he  hears 
of  the  engineer's  statement.  So  far  as  I  know,  he  can't 
recover  under  his  policy,  and  we  could  head  him  off 
from  going  to  the  underwriters  if  he  can.  The  next 
point  is — are  the  miner  fellow  and  the  Adelaide's  skip- 
per likely  to  take  any  independent  action  on  their  own 
account?  I  don't  think  that's  very  probable." 

"Nor  do  I,"  said  Jimmy.  "It  isn't  wise  of  a  skipper 
to  turn  around  on  a  man  like  Merril,  unless  it's  in  a 
court  where  he  has  the  law  behind  him,  and  the  pros- 
pector would  scarcely  attempt  to  do  anything  alone. 
Besides,  without  the  document  to  produce,  they  would 
have  very  little  to  go  upon — and  what  is  more  to  the 


AN    EYE    FOR    AN    EYE  349 

purpose,  both  of  them  promised  to  let  me  handle  the 
thing." 

Jordan  nodded  as  if  satisfied.  "That,"  he  said, 
"makes  it  easier.  We're  going  to  collect  our  money  on 
the  salvage  claim,  and  when  Merril  has  raised  it  he'll 
have  strained  his  resources,  so  he  won't  count  very 
much  as  an  opponent  of  the  Shasta  Company.  The 
man's  crippled  already." 

The  fact  that  his  comrade  was  apparently  not  de- 
sirous of  proceeding  to  extremities  afforded  Jimmy  a 
vast  relief,  but  it  vanished  suddenly  when  Eleanor  broke 
in. 

"Can't  you  understand  that  the  affair  must  be  looked 
at  from  another  point  of  view  as  well  as  the  commercial 
one?"  she  asked. 

It  was  a  difficult  question,  and  when  neither  of  them 
answered  her  the  girl  went  on : 

"It  doesn't  seem  to  occur  to  you  that  what  you  sug- 
gest amounts  to  covering  up  a  conspiracy  and  allow- 
ing a  scoundrel  to  escape  his  deserts,"  she  said.  "There 
is  another  point,  too.  You  will  have  to  inform  the  police 
about  the  Robertson  affair,  Jimmy,  and  his  connection 
with  Merril  is  bound  to  appear  when  they  lay  hands 
on  him." 

"That,"  said  Jimmy,  with  a  trace  of  dryness,  "is 
hardly  likely.  The  man  will  be  heading  for  the  dig- 
gings by  this  time  if  he  isn't  drowned,  and  there's 
very  little  probability  of  the  police  getting  hold  of 
him  there." 

Eleanor  laughed,  a  very  bitter  laugh,  as  she  fixed 
her  eyes  on  him. 

"So  you  are  quite  content  with  Charley's  plan — to 


350  THRICE    ARMED 

extort  so  many  dollars  from  Merril?"  she  said.  "It 
has  one  fatal  defect ;  it  does  not  satisfy  me." 

"Now "  commenced  Jordan,  but  the  girl  checked 

him  with  a  gesture. 

"I  want  him  crushed,  disgraced,  imprisoned,  ruined 
altogether."  . 

"Anyway,  I  owe  it  to  my  associates  to  make  sure  of 
the  money  first." 

"And  after  that  you  feel  you  have  to  stand  by 
Jimmy  ?" 

The  man  winced  when  she  flung  the  question  at  him ; 
but  when  he  did  not  answer  she  appeared  to  rouse  her- 
self for  an  effort,  leaning  forward  a  trifle  with  a  gleam 
in  her  eyes  and  the  red  flush  plainer  in  her  cheek. 

"Still,"  she  said,  "if  Jimmy  is  what  I  think  him,  he 
will  not  ask  it  of  you.  I  want  him  to  go  back  six  years 
to  the  time  he  came  home — from  Portland,  wasn't  it, 
Jimmy? — and  stayed  a  few  weeks  with  us.  Was  there 
any  shadow  upon  us  then,  though  your  father  was 
getting  old?  I  want  you  to  remember  him  as  he  was 
when  you  went  away,  a  simple,  kindly,  abstemious,  and 
fearless  man.  It  surely  can't  be  very  hard." 

Jimmy  face  grew  furrowed,  and  he  set  his  lips  tight ; 
but  he  said  nothing,  and  the  girl  went  on : 

"It  was  not  so  the  next  time  you  came  back.  Some- 
thing had  happened  in  the  meanwhile.  The  bondholder 
had  laid  his  grasp  on  him.  He  was  weakening  under 
it,  and  the  lust  of  drink  was  crushing  the  courage  out 
of  him.  Still,  you  must  remember  that  it  was  his  one 
consolation.  Then  came  the  awful  climax  of  the  closing 
scene.  I  had  to  face  it  with  Charley — you  were  away — 
but  you  must  realize  the  horror  it  brought  me." 


AN    EYE    FOR    AN    EYE  351 

Jordan  turned  toward  her  abruptly.  "Eleanor,"  he 
said,  with  a  trace  of  hoarseness  in  his  voice,  "let  it  drop. 
You  can't  bear  the  thing  a  second  time." 

She  stopped  him  with  a  frown.  "I  want  you  to  pic- 
ture him  deluding  Prescott  with  one  of  the  pitiful, 
cunning  excuses  that  drunkards  make.  Wasn't  it  hor- 
rible in  itself  that  he  should  have  sunk  to  that?  Then 
it  shouldn't  be  very  hard  to  imagine  him  bribing  a 
lounger  outside  to  buy  him  the  whisky,  and  the  carousal 
afterward  with  a  stranger,  a  dead-beat  and  outcast 
low  enough  to  profit  by  his  evident  weakness.  Still,  he 
was  your  father,  Jimmy.  Then  there  was  the  groping 
for  matches  and  the  upsetting  of  the  lamp.  Somebody 
brought  Charley,  and  when  he  came  your  father  lay 
with  the  clothes  charred  upon  his  burned  limbs,  still 
half-crazed  with  drink  and  mad  with  pain.  Must  I 
tell  you  once  more  what  I  saw  when  Charley  brought 
me  ?  I  am  willing,  if  there  is  nothing  else  that  will  rouse 
you.  You  have  heard  it  before,  but  I  want  to  burn  it 
into  your  brain,  so  that  however  hard  you  try  you 
can't  blot  out  that  scene." 

Jimmy's  face  was  grim  and  white,  but  while  he  sat 
very  still  his  comrade  rose  resolutely. 

"Eleanor,"  he  said,  "if  you  attempt  to  recall  another 
incident  of  that  horrible  night  I  shall  carry  you  by 
main  force  out  of  the  room." 

The  girl  turned  to  him  with  a  little  gesture.  "Then  I 
suppose  I  must  sumbit.  You  have  a  man's  strength 
and  courage  in  you — or  I  think  you  would  be  afraid  to 
marry  me;  but  one  could  fancy  that  Jimmy  has  none. 
The  daughter  of  the  man  who  ruined  his  father  has  con- 
descended to  be  gracious  to  him.  Still,  I  have  a  little 


352  THRICE    ARMED 

more  to  say.  She  is  his  daughter,  his  flesh  and  blood, 
Jimmy,  and  his  pitiless,  hateful  nature  is  in  her.  That 
is  the  woman  you  wish  to  marry.  The  mere  notion  of 
it  is  horrible.  Still,  you  can't  marry  her,  Jimmy.  You 
must  crush  her  father,  and  drag  him  to  his  ruin.  After 
all,  there  is  a  little  manhood  somewhere  in  you.  You 
will  take  the  engineer's  statement  to  the  underwriters 
and  the  police.  You  must — you  have  to." 

Jimmy  stood  up  slowly,  with  the  veins  swollen  on  his 
forehead  and  a  gray  patch  in  his  cheek.  "Eleanor,"  he 
said  hoarsely,  "I  believe  there  is  a  devil  in  you;  but  I 
think  you  are  right  in  this.  Jordan,  will  you  hand  me 
that  paper?" 

He  stood  still  for  at  least  a  minute  when  his  comrade 
passed  it  to  him,  and  the  girl  watched  him  with  a  little 
gleam  in  her  eyes.  His  face  was  furrowed,  and  looked 
worn  as  well  as  very  hard.  There  was  not  a  sound  in 
the  little  room,  and  the  splash  of  the  ripples  on  the 
Shasta's  plates  outside  came  in  through  the  open  ports 
with  a  startling  distinctness.  Jordan  felt  that  the  ten- 
sion was  becoming  almost  unendurable.  Then  Jimmy 
turned  slowly  toward  his  sister,  and  though  the  pain 
was  still  in  his  face  it  had  curiously  changed.  There 
was  a  look  in  his  blue  eyes  that  sent  a  thrill  of  conster- 
nation through  her.  They  were  very  steady,  and  she 
knew  that  she  had  failed. 

"I  can't  do  it.  It  was  not  the  girl's  fault,  and  she 
shall  not  be  dragged  through  the  mire,"  he  said.  Then 
he  looked  at  his  comrade.  "What  I  am  going  to  do 
may  cost  you  a  good  deal  of  money,  and  my  appoint- 
ment to  the  Shasta  is,  of  course,  in  your  hands.  I  am 
going  straight  from  here  to  Merril's  house." 


AN    EYE    FOR    AN    EYE  353 

"Well,"  said  Jordan  simply,  "it  may  cost  us  both  a 
good  deal,  but  I  guess  I  must  face  it.  If  I  were  fixed  as 
you  are,  that  is  just  what  I  should  do." 

Jimmy  said  nothing,  but  he  went  out  swiftly,  and 
Eleanor  turned  to  her  companion  with  a  very  bitter 
smile  when  the  door  closed  behind  him. 

"Ah!"  she  said,  "has  that  girl  beguiled  you  too?  You 
had  Merril  in  your  hands,  and  instead  of  crushing  him 
you  are  going  to  smooth  his  troubles  away." 

"No,"  said  Jordan  dryly,  "I  don't  quite  think  Jimmy 
will  do  that.  In  some  respects,  I  understand  him  better 
than  you  do.  He  wants  to  save  the  girl  all  the  sorrow 
and  disgrace  he  can,  but  he  is  going  to  run  her  father 
out  of  this  city.  Jimmy's  not  exactly  clever,  and  it's 
quite  likely  he'll  mix  up  things  when  he  meets  Merril; 
but,  for  all  that,  I  guess  he'll  carry  out  just  what  he 
means  to  do.  Somehow,  he  generally  does.  That's  the 
kind  of  man  he  is." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  a  smile  crept  into  his 
eyes.  "I  don't  know  what  the  result  will  be,  and  it  may 
be  the  break-up  of  the  Shasta  Company;  but  I  can't 
blame  Jimmy." 

"Ah !"  said  Eleanor,  "you,  the  man  I  counted  on,  are 
turning  against  me  as  well  as  my  brother." 

Then  the  sustaining  purpose  seemed  to  die  out  of  her, 
and  she  sank  back  suddenly  in  her  chair  with  her  face 
hidden  from  him.  Jordan  crossed  the  little  room,  and 
stooping  beside  her  slipped  an  arm  about  her. 

"My  dear,"  he  said,  "you  can  count  on  me  always 
and  in  everything  but  this.  It's  because  of  what  you 
are  to  me  that  I'm  standing  by  Jimmy." 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

MERRIL  CAPITULATES 

MERRIL  was  not  in  his  house  when  Jimmy 
reached  it,  but  it  appeared  that  he  was  ex- 
pected shortly,  and  the  latter,  who  resolved 
to  wait  for  him,  was  shown  into  a  big  artistically  fur- 
nished room.  He  sat  there  at  least  ten  minutes,  alone 
and  grim  in  face,  with  a  growing  disquietude,  for  his 
surroundings  had  their  effect  on  him.  The  house  was 
built  of  wood,  but  expense  had  not  been  spared,  and 
those  who  have  visited  the  Western  cities  know  how 
Tseautiful  a  wooden  dwelling  can  be  made.  Jimmy  looked 
out  through  the  open  windows  on  to  a  wide  veranda 
framed  with  a  slender  colonnade  of  wooden  pillars  sup- 
porting fretted  arches  of  lace-like  delicacy.  The  floor 
of  the  room,  which  was  choicely  parquetted  in  cunning- 
ly contrasted  wood,  also  caught  his  eye,  and  there  were 
Indian-sewn  rugs  of  furs  on  it  of  a  kind  that  he  knew 
was  rarely  purchased  in  the  north,  except  on  behalf  of 
Russian  princes  and  American  railroad  kings.  The 
furniture,  he  fancied  by  the  timber,  was  Canadian-made, 
but  it  had  evidently  been  copied  from  artistic  European 
models ;  and  though  he  was  far  from  being  a  connois- 
seur in  such  things,  they  had  all  a  painful  significance 
to  him  just  then. 

354 


MERRIL  CAPITULATES  355 

They  suggested  wealth  and  taste  and  luxury ;  and  it 
seemed  only  fitting  that  the  woman  he  loved  should 
have  such  a  dwelling,  while  he  realized  that  it  was  his 
hand  which  must  deprive  her  of  all  the  artistic  dainti- 
ness to  which  she  had  grown  accustomed  and  no  doubt 
valued.  He,  a  steamboat  skipper  of  low  degree,  had, 
like  blind  Samson,  laid  a  brutal  grasp  upon  the  pillars 
of  the  house,  and  he  could  feel  the  trembling  of  the 
beautiful  edifice.  This  would  have  afforded  him  a  cer- 
tain grim  satisfaction,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that 
it  was  impossible  to  tell  whether  the  woman  he  would 
have  spared  every  pain  might  not  be  overwhelmed  amid 
the  ruin  when  he  exerted  his  strength.  It  must  be 
exerted.  In  that  he  could  not  help  himself. 

While  he  sat  there  with  a  hard,  set  face,  she  came 
in,  dressed,  as  he  realized,  in  harmony  with  her  sur- 
roundings. Her  gracious  patrician  quietness  and  her 
rich  attire  troubled  him,  and  he  felt,  in  spite  of  all 
Eleanor  had  said,  that  it  would  be  a  vast  relief  if  he 
could  abandon  altogether  the  purpose  that  had  brought 
him  there,  though  to  do  so  would,  it  was  evident,  set  the 
girl  further  apart  from  him  than  ever,  since  her  fa- 
ther's station  naturally  stood  as  a  barrier  between  them. 
Still,  he  remembered  what  he  owed  the  men  who  had 
sent  him  on  board  the  Shasta — Jordan,  Forster,  old 
Leeson,  and  two  or  three  more;  he  could  not  turn 
against  them  now. 

Anthea  stood  still  just  inside  the  door,  looking  at 
him  half-expectant,  but  with  something  that  was  sug- 
gestive of  apprehension  in  her  manner,  and  Jimmy  felt 
the  hot  blood  creep  into  his  face  when  he  moved  quietly 
forward  and  kissed  her.  In  view  of  what  he  had  to  do, 


356 

I 

it  would,  he  felt,  have  been  more  natural  if  she  had 
shrunk  from  him  in  place  of  submitting  to  his  caress. 
She  appeared  to  recognize  the  constraint  that  was  upon 
him,  for  she  turned  away  and  sat  down  a  little  distance 
from  him. 

"Jimmy,"  she  said,  "I'm  glad  to  see  you  back.  I 
have  been  lonely  without  you — and  a  little  uneasy.  In- 
deed, though  I  don't  know  exactly  why,  I  am  anxious 
now." 

Then  she  looked  at  him  steadily.  "It  is  the  first  time 
you  have  been  here.  Something  unusual  must  have 
brought  you.  Jimmy,  is  it  war?" 

The  man  made  a  deprecatory  gesture.  "I'm  afraid  it 
is,"  he  said.  "I  don't  think  there  can  be  any  compro- 
mise." 

"Ah!"  said  the  girl,  with  a  start,  "you  don't  look 
like  a  man  who  has  come  to  offer  terms." 

Jimmy  was  still  standing,  and  he  leaned  somewhat 
heavily  on  the  back  of  a  chair.  "I  have  to  do  something 
that  I  shrink  from,  but  it  must  be  done.  If  there  were 
no  other  reason,  I  daren't  go  back  on  the  men  who  have 
confidence  in  me;  that  is — not  altogether,  though  in  a 
way — I  am  now  betraying  them.  Anthea,  you  will  not 
let  this  thing  stand  between  us?" 

"No ;"  and  the  girl's  voice  was  steady,  though  a  trifle 
strained.  "At  least,  not  always.  Still,  I  have  felt  that 
some  day  I  should  have  to  choose  whom  I  should  hold 
to — my  father  or  you.  It  is  very  hard  to  face  that 
question,  Jimmy." 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy  gravely ;  "I  am  afraid  you  must 
choose  to-night.  You  know  how  much  I  want  you,  but 
I  have  sense  enough  to  recognize  that  I  may  bring 


MERRIL  CAPITULATES  357 

trouble  on  both  of  us  if  I  urge  you  to  do  what  you 
might  afterward  regret." 

Anthea  said  nothing  for  almost  a  minute,  and  because 
of  the  restraint  he  had  laid  upon  himself  Jimmy  under- 
stood the  cost  of  her  quietness.  It  seemed  necessary 
that  both  should  hold  themselves  in  hand.  Then  she 
turned  to  him  again. 

"You  are  quite  sure  there  can  be  no  compromise?" 

"It  is  for  many  reasons  out  of  the  question.  In  fact, 
I  think  the  decisive  battle  will  be  fought  to-night.  I 
have  strained  every  point  to  make  it  easier  for  you,  or  I 
should  not  have  come  at  all,  and  it  is  very  likely  that  my 
comrades  will  discard  me  when  they  hear  what  I  have 
done.  I  am  willing  to  face  their  anger,  but,  to  some 
extent,  at  least,  I  must  keep  my  bargain  with  them." 

He  moved  a  pace  or  two,  and  stood  close  by  her 
chair  looking  down  at  her.  "If  you  understood  every- 
thing, you  would  not  blame  me." 

Anthea  glanced  at  him  a  moment,  and  he  fancied  that 
a  shiver  ran  through  her.  "I  do  not  blame  you  now, 
though  it  is  all  a  little  horrible.  I  cannot  plead  with 
you,  and  if  I  did  I  see  that  you  would  not  listen.  You 
must  do  what  you  feel  you  have  to." 

Neither  of  them  spoke  for  a  while,  though  Jimmy  felt 
the  tension  was  almost  unendurable.  It  was  evident 
that  the  girl  felt  it  too,  for  he  could  see  the  signs  of 
strain  in  her  face.  So  intent  were  they  that  neither 
heard  the  door  open,  and  Jimmy  turned  with  a  little 
start  when  the  sound  of  a  footstep  reached  them.  Mer- 
ril  was  standing  not  far  away,  little,  portly,  and  im- 
maculately dressed,  regarding  them  with  an  inscrutable 
face. 


358  THRICE   ARMED 

"I  understand  you  wish  to  see  me,  Mr.  Wheelock," 
he  said.  "Anthea,  you  will  no  doubt  allow  us  a  few 
minutes." 

The  girl  rose  and  moved  toward  the  door,  but  before 
she  went  out  she  turned  for  a  moment  and  glanced  at 
Jimmy.  Then  it  closed  softly,  and  he  saw  that  Merril 
was  regarding  him  with  a  sardonic  smile. 

"I  heard  that  you  had  made  my  daughter's  acquaint- 
ance, but  I  was  not  aware  that  it  had  gone  as  far  as  I 
have  some  grounds  for  supposing  now,"  he  said. 

"That,"  said  Jimmy  quietly,  "is  a  subject  I  may 
mention  by  and  by.  In  the  meanwhile  I  have  something 
to  say  that  concerns  you  at  least  as  closely.  As  it 
has  a  bearing  on  the  other  question,  we  might  discuss 
it  first." 

"I  am  at  your  service  for  ten  minutes ;"  and  Merril 
pointed  to  a  chair. 

Jimmy  sat  down,  but  said  nothing  for  a  few  moments. 
Apart  from  the  trouble  that  he  must  bring  upon  Anthea, 
he  felt  that  it  was  a  big  and  difficult  thing  he  had  under- 
taken. He  was  a  steamboat  skipper,  and  the  man  in 
front  of  him  one  skilled  in  every  art  of  commercial 
trickery  whose  ability  was  recognized  in  that  city.  Still, 
he  felt  curiously  steady  and  sure  of  himself,  for  Jimmy, 
like  other  simple-minded  men,  as  a  rule  appeared  to 
advantage  when  forced  suddenly  to  face  a  crisis.  He 
felt,  in  fact,  much  as  he  had  done  when  he  stood  grimly 
resolute  on  the  Shasta's  bridge  while  the  Adelaide, 
sheering  wildly,  dragged  her  toward  the  spouting  surf. 
Then  he  turned  to  Merril. 

"I  called  on  you  once  before  to  make  a  request," 
he  said. 


MERRIL  CAPITULATES  359 

"And  your  errand  is  much  the  same  now,  though  one 
eould  fancy  that  you  feel  you  have  something  to  back 
it?"  his  companion  suggested  dryly. 

"No,"  said  Jimmy,  "I  have  nothing  to  ask  you  for 
this  time.  Instead,  I  am  simply  going  to  mention 
certain  facts,  and  leave  you  to  act  on  the  information 
in  the  only  way  open  to  you ;  that  is,  to  get  out  of 
Vancouver  as  soon  as  possible.  I  am  giving  you  the 
opportunity  in  order  to  save  Miss  Merril  the  pain  of 
seeing  you  prosecuted.  You  are  in  our  hands  now." 

Merril  scarcely  moved  a  muscle.  "You  are  prepared 
to  make  that  assurance  good?" 

"I  am ;"  and  Jimmy's  voice  had  a  little  ring  in  it.  "If 
you  will  give  me  your  attention  I'll  try  to  do  it.  You 
have  no  news  of  the  Adelaide  yet,  and,  to  commence 
with,  you  will  have  to  face  the  fact  that  she  is  not  on 
the  rocks.  She  was  just  ready  to  steam  south  with  a 
derangement  of  her  high-pressure  engine  when  I  last 
saw  her." 

Though  his  companion's  face  was  almost  expression- 
less, Jimmy  fancied  that  this  shot  had  reached  its 
mark,  and  he  proceeded  to  relate  what  had  happened 
since  he  fell  in  with  the  Adelaide.  He  did  it  with  some 
skill,  for  this  was  a  subject  with  which  he  was  at  home, 
and  he  made  the  feelings  of  her  skipper  and  second 
engineer  perfectly  clear.  Then,  though  he  had  not  men- 
tioned Robertson's  confession,  he  sat  still,  wondering 
at  Merril's  composure. 

"It  sounds  probable,"  said  the  latter,  with  a  little 
smile.  "You  expect  the  skipper  and  the  second  engi- 
neer to  bear  you  out?  No  doubt  they  promised,  but 
when  they  get  here  the  thing  will  wear-  another  aspect. 


360  THRICE    ARMED 

In  fact,  in  all  probability  it  will  look  too  big  for  them. 
You  see,  they  have  merely  put  a  certain  construction 
upon  one  or  two  occurrences.  It's  quite  likely  they 
will  be  willing  to  admit  that  it  is,  after  all,  the  wrong 
one." 

"Since  we  intend  to  claim  half  the  value  of  the 
Adelaide,  they  would  have  to  answer  on  their  oath  in 
court."  , 

Merril  shook  his  head.  "Half  her  value !  I  commence 
to  understand,"  he  said.  "An  appeal  to  the  court  is, 
as  a  rule,  expensive,  as  I  guess  you  know.  It  is  gen- 
erally wiser  to  be  reasonable  and  make  a  compromise." 

The  suggestion  was  so  characteristic  of  the  man  that 
Jimmy  lost  a  little  of  his  self-restraint. 

"There  will  be  no  compromise  in  this  case,"  he  said. 
"If  it  were  necessary  we  would  drag  you  through  every 
court  in  the  land ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  will  be 
no  need  for  that.  You  made  a  mistake  in  your  opinion 
of  the  courage  of  your  skipper  and  your  second  engi- 
neer. You  also  made  a  more  serious  one  in  putting  the 
screw  too  hard  on  Robertson." 

"Ah!"  said  Merril  sharply,  at  last,  "there  is  some- 
thing more?" 

Jimmy  took  a  paper  from  his  pocket,  and  gravely 
handed  it  to  him.  "I  am  quite  safe  in  allowing  you  to 
look  at  it.  It  wouldn't  be  advisable  for  you  to  make 
any  attempt  to  destroy  it.  You  will  excuse  my  men- 
tioning that." 

Merril  unfolded  the  document,  and  Jimmy  noticed 
that  the  half-contemptuous  toleration  died  out  of  his 
face  as  he  read  it.  Then  he  quietly  handed  it  back,  and 


MERRIL  CAPITULATES  361 

sat  very  still  for  at  least  a  minute  before  he  turned  to 
his  companion  again. 

"That  rather  alters  the  case.  You  have  something  to 
go  upon.  Do  you  mind  telling  me  what  course  you 
purpose  to  take?" 

"As  I  mentioned,  I  don't  purpose  to  take  any.  Still, 
the  Shasta  Company  will  send  in  a  claim  for  salvage 
to-morrow,  and  afterward  sue  you — or  whoever  you 
entrust  with  your  affairs — unless  it  is  met.  The 
Adelaide  should  also  be  here  in  the  course  of  the  next 
day  or  two,  and  you  will  have  your  skipper  and  second 
engineer,  as  well  as  the  miner  who  witnessed  the  state- 
ment, to  face.  They  appear  determined  on  raising  as 
much  unpleasantness  as  possible,  though  they  were  will- 
ing to  hold  back  until  I  had  taken  the  first  steps." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  then  leaned  forward  in  his 
chair  with  a  little  forceful  gesture.  "Though  it  would 
please  me  to  see  you  prosecuted  and  disgraced,  I  will  at 
least  take  no  steps  to  prevent  your  getting  out  of  this 
city  quietly." 

"Ah!"  said  Merril,  "you  no  doubt  expect  something 
for  that  concession?" 

"No,"  and  Jimmy  stood  up,  "I  expect  nothing.  It 
would  hurt  me  to  make  a  bargain  of  any  kind  with  you, 
and  it  would,  I  think,  be  illegal.  Still,  I  have  the  honor 
of  informing  you  that  I  purpose  to  marry  Miss  Merril 
as  soon  as  it  appears  convenient  to  her,  in  spite  of  any 
opposition  that  you  may  think  fit  to  offer." 

Merril  showed  neither  astonishment  nor  anger.  In- 
stead he  smiled  quietly,  and  his  companion  surmised 
that  he  had  already  with  characteristic  promptness 
decided  on  his  course  of  action. 


S62  THRICE    ARMED 

"You  have  no  objections  to  my  sending  for  her?" 

Jimmy  said  he  had  none,  and  five  minutes  later  Anthea 
appeared.  She  stood  near  the  door  looking  at  the  men, 
and  saw  that  Jimmy's  face  was  darkly  flushed.  Her 
father,  however,  appeared  almost  as  composed  as  usual. 
Jimmy  felt  that  he  dare  not  look  at  her,  and  the  tense 
silence,  which  lasted  a  few  moments,  tried  his  courage 
hard.  It  cost  him  an  effort  to  hold  himself  in  hand 
when  Merril  turned  to  the  girl. 

"I  understand  from  Mr.  Wheelock  that  you  are  will- 
ing to  marry  him.  Is  that  the  case?"  he  said. 

"Yes,"  replied  Anthea  simply,  while  the  blood  crept 
into  her  cheeks.  "That  is,  I  shall  be  willing  when  cir- 
cumstances permit." 

"Then,  in  the  meanwhile,  at  least,  you  would  consider 
my  wishes?" 

Anthea  glanced  at  Jimmy.  "I  think  he  understands 
that." 

Merril  said  nothing  for  almost  half  a  minute,  and 
sat  still  regarding  them  with  a  sardonic  smile,  though 
his  eyes  were  gentler  than  usual. 

"Well,"  he  said  at  last,  "that  is  no  more  than  one 
would  have  expected  from  you.  Mr.  Wheelock  is,  how- 
ever, quite  prepared  to  disregard  my  opposition.  In 
fact,  one  could  almost  fancy  that  he  will  be  a  little 
grieved  when  I  say  that  I  do  not  mean  to  offer  any." 

Jimmy  was  certainly  astonished,  for  he  had  at  least 
expected  that  the  man  would  make  an  attempt  to  play 
upon  the  girl's  feelings.  However,  he  said  nothing,  and 
Merril  turned  to  her  again. 

"Well,  I  fancy  that  he  has  shown  himself  capable  of 
looking  after  you,  and  there  is  a  certain  forceful  sim- 


MERRIL  CAPITULATES  363 

plicity  in  his  character  that,  when  I  consider  him  as  my 
daughter's  husband,  somewhat  pleases  me.  With  moder- 
ate good  fortune  it  may  carry  him  a  long  way." 

It  seemed  an  almost  incomprehensible  thing  to  Jimmy 
that  the  man  should  show  no  trace  of  vindictiveness,  and 
perhaps  the  latter  guessed  it,  for  he  laughed  softly. 

"Mr.  Wheelock,"  he  said,  "as  you  have  no  doubt 
guessed,  I  never  had  much  faith  in  the  conventional 
code  of  morality,  but  since  you  seem  determined  to 
marry  Anthea,  I  am  in  one  respect  glad  that  you  evi- 
dently have,  though  that  is  perhaps  not  a  very  logical 
admission.  I  was  out  after  money,  and  allowed  no 
other  consideration  to  influence  me.  It  is  probable  that 
I  should  have  accumulated  a  good  deal  of  it  had  not 
everything  gone  against  me  lately.  Well,  if  I  showed 
no  pity,  I  at  least  seldom  allowed  any  rancor  to  betray 
me  into  injudicious  action  when  other  people  treated  me 
as  I  should  have  treated  them ;  but,  after  all,  that  is  not 
the  question,  and  we  will  be  practical.  You  will  not 
see  or  write  to  Anthea  for  six  months  from  to-day,  and 
then  if  neither  of  you  has  changed  your  mind  you 
can  understand  that  you  have  my  good-will.  She  will 
advise  you  of  her  address — in  Toronto — in  the  mean- 
while. It  is  not  a  great  deal  to  promise." 

Jimmy  glanced  at  the  girl,  and  turned  again  to 
Merril  when  she  nodded. 

"I  pledge  myself  to  that,"  he  said. 

"Then,"  said  Merril,  "you  will  leave  us  now.  I  have 
a  good  deal  to  say  to  Anthea." 

Jimmy  moved  away  without  a  word,  and  went  down 
the  corridor  with  every  nerve  in  him  tingling. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

ELEANOR   RELENTS 

JORDAN,  who  waited  some  time  on  board  the 
Shasta,  saw  no  more  of  Jimmy  that  night.  This 
was,  however,  in  one  respect  a  relief  to  him, 
since  Eleanor,  who  was  evidently  very  angry  with  her 
brother,  insisted  on  remaining  as  long  as  possible  in  the 
expectation  that  he  would  come  back  again.  It  was,  in 
fact,  only  when  the  hour  at  which  she  had  arranged  to 
meet  Mrs.  Forster  arrived  that  she  very  reluctantly 
permitted  Jordan  to  take  her  ashore,  and  he  felt  easier 
when  he  handed  her  into  Forster's  wagon.  It  did  not 
seem  to  him  that  a  further  meeting  between  her  and 
her  brother  would  be  likely  to  afford  much  pleasure 
to  anybody.  He  had  been  at  work  some  little  time  in 
his  office  next  morning  when  Jimmy  walked  in,  and, 
sitting  down,  looked  at  him  quietly. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  you  know  why  I  have  kept  out 
of  your  way  so  long,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  replied  Jordan  dryly,  "I  can  guess.  What 
did  you  say  to  Merril?" 

"I  told  him  what  had  happened,  and  left  him  to  act 
upon  it.  Now  I'm  quite  prepared  to  resign  the  com- 
mand of  the  Shasta." 

"If  it's  necessary,  we'll  talk  about  that  later.  In  the 
864 


ELEANOR    RELENTS  365 

meanwhile  we'll  get  our  salvage  claim  in.    Leeson  should 
be  here  at  any  moment.     I  saw  him  last  night." 

He  set  to  work,  but  there  were  two  or  three  points  it 
was  necessary  to  discuss  with  Jimmy,  and  he  was  still 
busy  when  there  was  a  rattle  of  wheels  in  the  street  out- 
side, which  was  followed  by  the  sound  of  voices  on  the ' 
stairway.  Jordan  laid  down  his  pen  with  a  gesture  of 
embarrassment  and  dismay. 

"It's  Forster,  and  he  has  brought  Eleanor  along,"  he 
said.  "I'm  'most  afraid  you're  going  to  have  trouble, 
Jimmy." 

"It's  more  than  probable,"  and  Jimmy  smiled  some- 
what grimly.  "I'm  quite  prepared  for  it." 

Then  the  door  opened,  and  Eleanor,  Forster  and 
Leeson  came  in.  The  girl  sat  down  without  a  glance 
at  her  brother,  and  the  rancher  turned  to  Jordan. 

"Miss  Wheelock  has  acquainted  me  with  the  substance 
of  what  Jimmy  told  you  yesterday,  and  I  came  to  ask 
what  course  you  expect  to  take,"  he  said.  "I  may  say 
that  she  seems  as  anxious  to  hear  it  as  I  am." 

Eleanor  smiled.  "It  is  not  exactly  Mr.  Forster's 
fault  that  I  am  here,"  she  said,  "The  fact  is,  I  insisted 
on  coming.  He  was  perfectly  willing  to  leave  me 
behind." 

Jordan's  face  was  more  expressive  of  resignation 
than  pleasure,  but  he  took  up  his  pen  again. 

"This  is  a  statement  of  the  services  rendered  the 
Adelaide,  and  a  claim  in  respect  of  them,"  he  said.  "I 
am  going  to  take  it  along  to  Merril's  office  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  one  or  more  of  you  can  come  with  me." 

They  went  out  together,  but  when  they  reached 
Merril's  office  Jordan  and  Jimmy  alone  went  in.  They 


366  THRICE    ARMED 

found  a  good  many  other  people  waiting  there,  and  had 
some  little  difficulty  in  securing  attention,  while  the 
clerk  to  whom  Jordan  spoke  appeared  anxious  and  em- 
barrassed. 

"Mr.  Merril  is  not  here,"  he  said.  "He  went  out  of 
town  last  night,  and  executed  a  trust  deed  before  he 
left.  Mr.  Cathcart,  one  of  the  trustees,  is  now  inside." 

Jordan  looked  at  Jimmy.  "I  don't  mind  admitting 
that  I  expected  this,"  he  said.  Then  he  turned  to  the 
clerk :  "Take  our  names  in." 

They  were  shown  into  the  inner  office,  where  a  gray- 
haired  gentleman  listened  gravely  to  what  they  had  to 
say.  Then  he  took  the  salvage  claim  from  Jordan,  and 
laid  it  beneath  a  pile  of  other  papers. 

"It  will  be  considered  in  its  turn,"  he  said.  "I  do  not 
know  whether  we  shall  attempt  to  contest  it,  or  whether 
there  will  be  funds  to  meet  it,  but  I  may  be  able  to  tell 
you  more  to-morrow,  and  would  ask  you  to  take  no 
further  steps  until  you  have  seen  me.  I  am  at  liberty 
to  say  that  Mr.  Merril's  affairs  appear  to  be  consider- 
ably involved." 

Jordan  promised  to  wait,  and  when  he  turned  toward 
the  door,  the  trustee,  who  took  up  an  envelope,  made  a 
sign  to  Jimmy. 

"I  was  instructed  to  hand  you  this,  Captain 
Wheelock,  and  to  tell  you  that  Miss  Merril  leaves  for 
Toronto  by  to-day's  express,  on  the  understanding  that 
you  make  no  attempt  to  communicate  with  her.  It  con- 
tains her  address." 

Jimmy  went  out  with  his  thoughts  confused.  All 
that  had  come  about  was,  he  felt,  the  result  of  his 
action,  but  he  realized  that  in  any  case  the  crisis  could 


ELEANOR    RELENTS  367 

not  have  been  much  longer  delayed.  They  found  the 
others  awaiting  them,  and  when  Forster  had  quietly  but 
firmly  insisted  on  escorting  Eleanor  into  a  dry-goods 
store  and  leaving  her  there,  they  went  back  together 
to  Jordan's  office,  where  the  latter  related  what  he  had 
heard. 

"To  be  quite  straight,  I  must  admit  that  I  had  a 
notion  of  what  Jimmy  meant  to  do  last  night,  and  took 
no  steps  to  restrain  him,"  he  said.  "If  I  had  done  so, 
Merril  would  not  have  got  away.  We  are  both  in  your 
hands,  but,  while  you  may  think  differently,  I  am  not 
sure  that  what  has  happened  is  a  serious  misfortune 
from  a  business  point  of  view." 

Forster  said  nothing,  and  there  was  a  few  moments' 
awkward  silence  until  old  Leeson  spoke. 

"Considering  everything,  I  guess  you're  right,"  he 
said.  "Cathcart's  a  straight  man,  and  as  they  can't 
sell  the  Adelaide  without  permission  from  us,  we'll  get 
some  of  our  money,  although  it's  hardly  likely  the  estate 
will  realize  enough  to  go  around.  Seems  to  me  that's 
more  than  we  should  have  done  if  Merril  had  kept  hold. 
Well,  it's  not  my  proposition  that  we  turn  you  out." 

He  stopped  a  moment,  and  glanced  at  Jimmy  with  a 
little  dry  smile.  "Captain  Wheelock  has  gone  'way 
further  than  he  should  have  done  without  our  sanction, 
but  I  guess  it  will  meet  the  case  if  we  leave  him  to  his 
sister.  It's  a  sure  thing  Miss  Wheelock  is  far  from 
pleased  with  him.  Now,  there's  a  point  or  two  I  want 
to  mention." 

The  others  seemed  relieved  at  this,  and  when  Leeson 
had  said  his  say  Forster  went  away  with  him.  Then 
Jordan  glanced  at  Jimmy  with  apprehension  in  his  eyes 


368  THRICE    ARMED 

as  Eleanor  came  in.  She  stood  still,  looking  at  them 
with  the  portentous  red  flush  burning  in  her  cheek. 

"What  I  foresaw  all  along  has  happened.  Jimmy  has 
betrayed  you  to  save  that  girl,"  she  said. 

Then  she  turned  to  Jimmy,  flicking  her  glove  in  her 
hand  as  though  she  would  have  struck  him  with  it. 
"Jimmy,"  she  said  incisively,  "you  are  no  longer  a 
brother  of  mine.  Neither  Charley  nor  I  will  speak  to 
you  again." 

Jordan  straightened  himself  resolutely.  "Stop  there, 
Eleanor !"  he  said.  "If  you  won't  speak  to  him  I  can't 
compel  you  to,  but,  in  this  one  thing,  at  least,  you 
can't  compel  me.  Jimmy  was  my  friend  before  I  met 
you,  and  I'm  standing  by  him  now.  Anyway,  what  has 
he  done?" 

"Ah!"  said  the  girl,  with  an  audible  indrawing  of 
her  breath,  "he  has  spoiled  everything.  If  he  hadn't 
played  the  traitor  Merril  would  never  have  got  away. 
Oh!"  and  her  anger  shook  her,  "I  can  never  forgive 
him!" 

Once  more  she  turned  to  her  brother.  "There  is  no 
longer  any  tie  between  us.  You  have  broken  it,  and 
that  is  the  last  and  only  thing  I  have  to  say  to  you." 

Jimmy  rose,  and  quietly  reached  for  his  hat.  "Then," 
he  said,  "there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  pointing  out 
what  my  views  are.  We  can  only  wait  until  you  see 
things  differently." 

He  went  out,  and  Eleanor  sank  somewhat  limply  into 
a  chair. 

"Charley,"  she  said,  "it's  a  little  horrible,  but  he  is  a 
weak  coward,  and  I  hate  him.  You  had  better  break 
off  our  engagement ;  I'm  not  fit  to  marry  anybody." 


ELEANOR  RELENTS  369 

"That's  the  one  thing  that  holds  in  spite  of  every- 
thing," and  Jordan  looked  at  her  gravely  with  trouble 
in  his  face.  "Go  quietly,  Eleanor.  It  will  straighten 
out  in  time." 

The  girl  sat  still  for  a  while  saying  nothing,  and 
then  she  rose  with  a  little  shiver.  "Find  Forster,  and  if 
he  is  not  going  back,  get  a  team,"  she  said.  "I  want 
Mrs.  Forster.  I  can't  stay  in  the  city." 

Jordan  went  out  with  her,  and,  though  he  had  a  good 
deal  to  do,  was  not  sorry  when  he  failed  to  find  Forster 
and  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  drive  her  back  to 
the  ranch.  Eleanor,  however,  said  very  little  to  him 
during  the  journey,  and  he  had  sense  enough  to  confine 
his  attention  to  his  team.  He  had  also  little  time  to 
think  of  anything  that  did  not  concern  his  business 
when  he  returned  to  the  city,  for  the  Shasta  had  to  be 
got  ready  to  go  back  to  sea,  and  the  Adelaide  arrived 
early  on  the  following  day.  The  skipper  went  with  him 
to  interview  Merril's  trustee,  and  the  latter  announced 
that  no  steps  would  be  taken  to  contest  the  salvage 
claim  when  he  heard  what  he  had  to  say.  However,  he 
added  dryly  that  it  would  probably  be  advisable  for  the 
Shasta  Company  to  consider  the  compromise  proposi- 
tion he  would  shortly  make.  Jordan,  who  fancied  he 
was  right  in  this,  went  away  without  having  found  it 
necessary  to  hand  him  the  engineer's  confession,  and 
was  glad  he  had  not  offered  to  produce  it  when  he  ran- 
sacked his  office  for  it  a  few  days  later. 

"I  certainly  had  the  thing  the  morning  Forster  and 
Eleanor  were  here,"  he  said.  "Jimmy  laid  it  down,  and 
I  don't  remember  having  seen  him  take  it  up  again. 
Still,  I  suppose  he  must  have  done  so." 


370  THRICE    ARMED 

Jimmy  had,  however,  gone  north  again  by  that  time, 
and  the  compromise  had  been  agreed  to  before  he  came 
back  again.  The  Shasta  had  also  made  several  other 
successful  trips  when  he  had  occasion  to  call  at  Victoria 
on  his  southward  run,  and  seeing  the  Sorata  in  the 
harbor  rowed  off  to  her.  He  spent  that  evening  in 
her  little  forecastle  with  Valentine,  who  was  busy  with 
deep-water  fishing-lines.  The  latter  wore  an  old  blue 
shirt  and  canvas  trousers  stained  with  paint  and  grease, 
and  he  laid  down  a  big  hank  of  line  when  at  length 
Jimmy,  who  had  been  whipping  on  hooks  for  him,  in- 
quired what  plans  he  had. 

"So  you're  not  going  back  to  the  West  Coast  to  drum 
up  cargo  for  us?"  he  said. 

"No,"  said  Valentine.  "Although  they  didn't  inti- 
mate it,  I  don't  think  your  people  have  any  more  use  for 
me.  They  have  the  trade  in  their  hands,  and  the  boat 
they  put  on  instead  of  yours  is  coming  down  full  every 
time.  In  fact,  I  believe  they're  buying  another  one,  as 
well  as  a  big  passenger  carrier  for  your  northern  trip." 

Jimmy  looked  astonished.  "It's  the  first  I've  heard 
of  it — but,  of  course,  it's  a  little  while  since  I  was  in 
Vancouver.  Where  did  they  raise  the  money?" 

"I  believe  they  got  some  of  it  from  Cathcart  on  the 
salvage  claim,  and  Leeson  and  two  or  three  of  his 
friends  raised  the  rest.  The  Adelaide  and  Merril's 
house  were  sold  at  auction.  I  heard  it  from  Jordan, 
who  was  over  here  a  week  ago,  and  it's  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  say  that  he's  going  to  send  you  in  the  new  boat. 
He  seems  to  have  some  notion  of  trying  to  get  into  the 
South  Sea  trade,  too,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  even- 


ELEANOR  RELENTS  371 

tually  you're  made  general  supervisor  of  the  Shasta 
Company's  growing  fleet." 

Jimmy  was  sensible  of  a  thrill  of  satisfaction,  but 
he  changed  the  subject.  "You  have  given  up  your 
chartering?" 

"I  have,"  said  Valentine,  with  a  curious  smile.  "The 
people  who  hired  my  boat  had  an  unsettling  effect  on 
me,  and  now  I'm  going  to  try  the  halibut  fishing  with  a 
couple  of  Siwash  hands.  Austerly's  was  my  last  char- 
ter— I  don't  think  I  shall  ever  take  another." 

Jimmy  nodded,  for  he  felt  that  he  understood. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "in  one  way  it  wouldn't  be  nice  to  see 
anybody  else  occupying  that  after-cabin.  Of  course, 
the  notion  is  a  fanciful  one,  but  I  shouldn't  like  to 
think  of  it  myself." 

Again  the  curious  little  smile  flickered  into  Valen- 
tine's eyes.  "It  is  scarcely  likely  to  happen.  I  think 
you  will  understand  my  views  when  I  show  you  the 
room." 

Jimmy  went  aft  with  him  through  the  saloon,  and 
Valentine,  unlocking  a  door  beneath  the  companion 
slide,  opened  it  gently.  The  fashion  in  which  he  did  it 
had  its  significance,  and  Jimmy  understood  altogether 
as  he  looked  into  the  little  room.  It  was  immaculate. 
Bulkhead  and  paneling  gleamed  with  snowy  paint,  the 
berths  with  their  varnished  ledges  were  filled  with  spot- 
less linen,  and  there  was  not  a  speck  on  the  deck  be- 
neath. A  few  fresh  sprays  of  balsam  that  hung  be- 
neath the  beams  diffused  a  faint  aromatic  fragrance. 

"Those,"  said  Valentine  gravely,  "are  to  keep  out  the 
smell  of  the  halibut.  I  shouldn't  like  it  to  come  in  here. 


372  THRICE    ARMED 

She  had   the   lower  berth.      The   top    one   was    Miss 
Merril's." 

Jimmy  felt  the  blood  rise  to  his  face.  Valentine's 
manner  was  very  quiet,  and  there  was  not  the  slightest 
trace  of  sentimentality  in  it,  but  Jimmy  felt  that  he 
knew  what  he  was  thinking.  Besides,  Anthea  had  slept 
in  that  little  snowy  berth.  They  turned  away  without 
a  word,  when  Valentine  carefully  fastened  the  door, 
and  the  latter  had  sat  down  again  in  the  forecastle 
before  Jimmy  spoke. 

"Have  you  heard  anything  of  Miss  Austerly  lately  ?" 
he  asked. 

Valentine  lighted  the  lamp  beneath  the  beams,  for  it 
was  growing  dark,  and  taking  something  from  a  box  in 
the  upper  berth  stood  still  a  moment  with  it  in  his 
hands.  They  were  scarred  and  hardened  by  physical 
toil,  and  the  man  was  big  and  bronzed  and  very  quiet, 
though  every  line  of  his  face  and  figure  was  stamped 
with  the  wholesome  vigor  of  the  sea. 

"I  see  you  do  not  know,"  he  said.  "This  is  the 
letter  Austerly  sent  me.  As  you  will  notice,  it  was  at 
her  request.  She  would  not  have  minded  your  reading 
it." 

Jimmy  started  as  he  saw  that  the  envelope  had  a 
broad  black  edge,  and  his  companion  nodded  gravely. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "there  is  neither  tide  nor  fog  where 
she  has  gone.  There,  at  least,  we  are  told,  the  sea  is 
glassy." 

Jimmy  took  the  letter  out  of  the  envelope,  and  once 
or  twice  his  eyes  grew  a  trifle  hazy  as  he  read.  Then  he 
handed  it  back  to  Valentine,  almost  reverently. 

"I  am  sorry,"  was  all  he  said. 


ELEANOR  RELENTS  373 

Valentine  looked  at  him  with  the  little  grave  smile 
still  in  his  eyes.  "I  do  not  think  there  is  any  need  for 
that.  What  had  this  world  but  pain  to  offer  her?  She 
has  slipped  away,  but  she  has  left  something  behind — 
something  one  can  hold  on  by.  What  there  is  out  yon- 
der we  do  not  know — but  perhaps  we  shall  not  be  sorry 
when  we  slip  out  beyond  the  shrouding  mists  some  day." 

Neither  of  them  said  much  more,  and  shortly  after- 
ward Jimmy  went  back  to  the  Shasta.  Next  morning 
he  stood  on  his  bridge  watching  the  Sorata  slide  out  of 
harbor.  Valentine,  sitting  at  her  tiller,  waved  his  hat 
to  him,  and  Jimmy  was  glad  that  he  had  hurled  a  blast 
of  the  whistle  after  him  when  some  months  later  he  heard 
that  the  Sorata  and  her  skipper  had  gone  down  together 
in  a  wild  westerly  gale. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  proceeded  to  Vancouver,  and 
after  an  interview  with  Jordan,  who  formally  offered 
him  command  of  the  big  new  boat,  took  the  first  east- 
going  train  and  reached  Toronto  five  days  later.  An 
hour  after  he  got  there  he  hired  a  pulling  skiff  at  the 
water-front,  and  drove  her  out  with  sturdy  strokes  into 
the  blue  lake  across  which  a  little  cutter  was  creeping  a 
mile  or  so  away.  He  came  up  with  her,  hot  and  breath- 
less, and  the  girl  at  the  tiller  rose  quietly  when  he  swung 
himself  on  deck,  though  there  was  a  depth  of  tender- 
ness in  her  eyes. 

"Jimmy!"  she  said,  "why  didn't  you  tell  me?" 

Jimmy  laughed.  "You  should  have  expected  me," 
he  said.  "The  six  months  are  up." 

Anthea  turned  to  the  young  man  and  the  girl  who 
were  sitting  in  the  cockpit.  "Captain  Wheelock.  My 
cousin  Muriel,  and  Graham  Hoyle." 


374  THRICE    ARMED 

The  young  man  smiled  at  Jimmy,  who  was,  however, 
conscious  that  the  girl  was  surveying  him  with  critical 
curiosity.  Then  she  asked  him  a  question  concerning 
his  journey,  and  they  discussed  the  Canadian  railroads 
for  the  next  ten  minutes,  until  she  flashed  a  suggestive 
glance  at  the  young  man. 

"What  a  beautiful  morning  for  a  row !"  she  said. 

Hoyle  rose  to  his  feet.  "I  dare  say  I  could  pull  you 
ashore  in  Captain  Wheelock's  boat,"  he  said.  "There's 
just  wind  enough  to  bring  the  yacht  after  us  if  he  gets 
(the  topsail  up." 

Jimmy  did  not  get  the  topsail  up  when  they  rowed 
away,  but  sat  down  on  the  coaming  with  his  arm  around 
Anthea's  shoulder. 

"I  have  just  two  weeks  before  I  go  north  in  our  big 
new  boat,"  he  said.  "It  isn't  very  long,  but  I  want  to 
take  you  with  me." 

He  was  some  little  time  overruling  Anthea's  objec- 
tions one  by  one,  and  then  she  turned  and  looked  up  at 
him  with  a  flush  in  her  face. 

"Jimmy,"  she  said,  "I  suppose  you  realize  that  I 
haven't  a  dollar.  Some  provision  was  to  have  been  made 
for  me — but  I  felt  I  couldn't  profit  by  the  arrange- 
ment." 

Jimmy  laughed.  "If  it's  any  consolation  to  you,  I 
haven't  very  much,  either.  Still,  I  think  I'm  going  to 
get  it.  I  was  creeping  through  the  blinding  fog  six 
months  ago,  but  the  mists  have  blown  away  and  the 
sky  is  brightening  to  windward  now." 

Then  he  turned  and  pointed  to  the  strip  of  dusky 
blue  that  moved  across  the  gleaming  lake.  "If  anything 
more  is  wanted,  there's  the  fair  wind." 


ELEANOR  RELENTS  375 

They  ran  back  before  it  under  a  blaze  of  sunshine 
with  the  little  frothy  ripples  splashing  merrily  after 
them,  and  then  Jimmy  had  to  exert  himself  again 
before  he  could  induce  Anthea's  aunt  to  believe  that  it 
was  possible  for  her  niece  to  be  married  at  two  weeks' 
notice.  Still,  he  accomplished  it,  and  on  the  fifteenth 
day  he  and  Anthea  Wheelock  stood  on  the  platform  of 
a  big  dusty  car  as  the  Pacific  express  ran  slowly  into  the 
station  at  Vancouver. 

Leeson  stood  waiting  with  Forster,  and  Jordan  was 
already  running  toward  the  car,  but  Jimmy's  lips  set 
tight  when  he  saw  Eleanor  with  Mrs.  Forster.  In  a 
moment  or  two  Jordan  handed  Anthea  down,  and  then 
stood  aside  as  Eleanor  came  impulsively  forward.  To 
her  brother's  astonishment,  she  laid  her  hand  on  An- 
thea's shoulder  and  kissed  her  on  each  cheek. 

"Now,"  she  said,  "you  will  have  to  forgive  me." 

Jimmy  did  not  hear  what  his  wife  said,  for  Mrs. 
Forster  was  greeting  him,  and  then  Leeson  and  the 
rancher  seized  him ;  but  five  minutes  later  Eleanor  stood 
at  his  side. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "Anthea  and  I  are  going  to  be 
friends,  and  you  daren't  be  angry  any  longer,  Jimmy." 

They  had  dropped  a  little  behind  the  others,  who  were 
moving  along  the  wharf,  and  Jimmy  looked  at  her  with 
a  dry  smile. 

"I'm  not,"  he  said.  "In  fact,  I  don't  think  it  was 
my  temper  that  made  things  unpleasant  all  the  time. 
Still " 

"You  didn't  expect  me  to  change?" 

Her  brother  said  nothing,  and  she  looked  up  at  him 


376  THRICE    ARMED 

with  a  softness  in  her  eyes  he  never  remembered  seeing 
there. 

"I'm  going  to  marry  Charley  very  soon,"  she  said. 
"I  couldn't  have  done  that  while  I  hated  anybody,  and, 
after  all,  it  was  Merril  who  roused — the  wild  cat — in  me, 
and  we  have  done  with  him  altogether.  They  wouldn't 
have  him  back  in  Vancouver,  but  there's  a  land-boom 
somewhere  in  California,  and  Charley  hears  that  he  is 
already  piling  up  money." 

She  stopped  a  moment,  and  thrust  a  folded  paper  into 
his  hand.  "That's  yours,  but  Anthea  must  never  see 
it.  Charley  didn't  know  I  had  it,  and  I  meant  to  keep 
it  in  case  Merril  got  rich  again ;  but  I  don't  want  it  now. 
Please  destroy  it,  Jimmy." 

Jimmy  glanced  at  the  paper,  and  his  expression 
changed  when  he  saw  that  it  was  the  engineer's  confes- 
sion ;  but  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  sister's  arm  and  pressed 
it,  for  he  understood  what  the  fact  that  she  had  parted 
with  that  document  signified.  Then  Leeson,  who  was  a 
few  paces  in  front  of  them,  turned  and  pointed  to  a  big 
steamer  with  a  tier  of  white  deck-houses  lying  out  in 
the  Inlet. 

"The  boat's  waiting  at  the  landing,  and  we'll  go  off," 
he  said.  "There's  a  kind  of  wedding-lunch  ready  on 
board  her." 

Jimmy  said  they  had  purposed  going  straight  to  the 
house  he  had  commissioned  Jordan  to  take  for  him,  but 
the  latter  laughed,  and  Leeson  chuckled  dryly. 

"We  held  a  meeting  over  the  question,  and  fixed  it  up 
that  the  house  you  wanted  hadn't  quite  tone  enough  for 
the  man  who's  to  be  Commodore  of  the  Shasta  fleet  very 
soon,"  he  said.  "That's  why  we  decided  to  put  you  into 


ELEANOR  RELENTS  377 

my  big  one  on  the  rise.  Guess  there's  not  a  prettier 
house  around  this  city,  but  it  has  never  been  really  lived 
in.  I'm  out  most  of  every  day,  and  only  want  two 
rooms.  Now,  there's  no  use  protesting;  it's  all  fixed 
ready,  and  you're  going  right  in." 

He  turned,  and  touched  Anthea's  arm.  "You'll  stand 
by  me.  You  can't  afford  to  have  your  husband  kick 
against  the  man  with  the  most  money  in  the  Shasta 
Company." 

Jimmy's  protests  were  very  feeble.  It  had  been  his 
one  trouble  that  Anthea  would  have  to  live  in  a  very 
different  fashion  from  the  one  she  had  been  accustomed 
to,  and  he  was  relieved  when  she  thanked  the  old  man. 

Leeson  smiled  at  her  in  a  very  kindly  fashion.  "Well," 
he  said,  "I've  been  lonely  for  the  last  eight  years  since 
the  boy  who  should  have  had  that  house  went  down 
with  my  smartest  boat,  and  I  want  to  feel  that  there's 
somebody  under  the  same  roof  with  me  who  will  keep 
me  from  growing  too  hard  and  old." 

Then  he  stopped,  and  chuckled  in  his  usual  dry  man- 
ner. "I  was  going  to  make  Jordan  the  proposition — 
only  I  got  to  thinking  and  my  nerve  failed  me.  Guess  I 
made  my  money  hard  in  the  free  sealing  days  when  we 
had  trouble  with  everybody  all  the  time,  but  I  felt  I'd 
sooner  not  offend  Mrs.  Jordan,  and  I  might  do  it  if  I 
didn't  fix  things  just  as  she  told  me.  She's  a  clever 
woman — but  I  don't  want  to  have  her  on  my  trail." 

Eleanor  only  glanced  at  him  in  whimsical  reproach, 
and  they  moved  on,  laughing,  toward  the  waiting  boat. 


END 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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